Bill Johnson speaks about the importance of developing an awareness of God’s goodness that is bigger than our awareness of the problems we face. Jesus never lived in reaction to the devil, but in response to the Father. When the reality of heaven and God’s Presence is foremost in our minds and hearts, we are better positioned to pray effectively, from heaven towards earth rather than the other way around. We will always reflect the nature of the world we are most aware of. This is an excerpt from Bill’s message “Meditate on Things Above”. You can find the full message here: 
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Scripture References: Luke 18: 1 Colossians 3: 1 Ephesians 1: 17 Psalm 14: 1 Psalms 90: 12 Bill Johnson is a fifth-generation pastor with a rich heritage in the Holy Spirit. He is senior leader of Bethel Church in Redding, California, and is passionate about seeing Revival and God’s Kingdom established and revealed in the lives of individuals, families, communities, and nations. Bill’s teaching on the Kingdom of Heaven, hosting the Presence, and the renewed mind has helped thousands around the world to step into their true identity in Christ, God given purpose, and walk in a supernatural lifestyle displaying both purity and power. #BillJohnson #BethelChurch #Heaven
if I live in reaction to a problem
then the author of that problem has had
an influence on my thought life and my
behavior
the devil has no right to influence my
agenda you never see Jesus living in
reaction to the devil he only lived in
response to the father
Luke 18 verse 1.
I want to read eight verses
and then we’ll back up and talk
then he spoke a parable to them that men
always
ought to pray
and not lose heart I want to read that
first verse again
then he spoke a parable to them that men
always
ought to pray and not lose heart
saying there was in a certain city a
judge who did not fear God nor regard
man
now there was a widow in that City
she came to him saying get Justice for
me from my adversary and he would not
for a while
but afterward he said within himself
though I do not fear God nor regard man
yet because this Widow troubles me I
will avenge her lest by her continually
coming she weary me
though I met that lady
[Laughter]
then the Lord said hear what the unjust
judge said
and shall not God avenge his own elect
who cry out day and night to him though
he Bears long with them
and I tell you that he will avenge them
speedily
nevertheless when the son of man comes
will he really find faith on the Earth
I know that this is a pretty well known
story and it ought to be because it’s
one of the times the Lord talked to
people about prayer
if you look at all the things the
disciples could have asked
Jesus to teach them
the only thing I remember
was they asked him to teach
them how to pray
it has to be the result of them watching
him
engage with the father and coming and
capable able to display heaven on Earth
as a term I’ll use they break through in
this disease that disease
we find him retreating if you will
sending the crowds away going up on a
mountain to pray and when he came down
there was something upon him it wasn’t
that it wasn’t there before but they
must have been able to visibly see
something going on in through Jesus’s
life that would cause them to ask Jesus
please teach us this one thing this one
thing
Faith brings answers to prayer
but enduring faith
brings answers with character
[Music]
Faith brings answers to prayer but
enduring Faith brings answers with
character
the Lord is interested in answering
prayers but he’s also interested in what
we’re becoming
if he ever delays an answer it’s only so
that it might gain interest
it’s that it might gain interest and
that we might become the people capable
of stewarding well the answer
and not have the answer destroy us
in this Parable that Jesus gives he
starts with this statement men always
ought to pray
and not lose heart
and the next thing he does is he gives
this Parable but what does he do in the
parable
I understand the point of the parable as
endurance and prayer persistence and
prayer I get that and that’s the primary
lesson or I I should say well that’s the
point of the parable
but the primary lesson I think is a bit
different
Jesus says men ought to pray
and not lose heart
so here’s his will here’s the challenge
and how does he fix the challenge
he reveals a part of God’s nature
he says what you know about an unjust
judge
if he would answer this woman how much
more will I as a loving father who
actually cares for you and the process
how much more will I not answer for you
what is it so what does he do he causes
the people summoned to pray continuously
to live more aware of the actual nature
of God
let me put it this way
the ability to endure in prayer is
fueled by our understanding of his
nature
in fact let me take it a step farther
the fatigue in prayer
reveals
the consciousness of problems above
God’s nature
this word
um I was I was quite surprised I wanted
to find out this thing about losing
heart what does that mean to lose heart
I mean I mean I think we naturally can
Define it would be to be discouraged
maybe I prayed for so long nothing’s
happened in this area and we become
discouraged maybe maybe we’ve been
offended maybe something has happened
but it’s it’s this loss of passion I
think we can all give good natural
definitions of what it means to lose
heart I was surprised by the Biblical
word however
the Biblical word for losing heart is
actually two words the first word is
very simple it’s the word in or with or
by but the second word is very specific
it is the word evil
or bad
what has he done here he’s described
what it looks like
to have somebody immersed in an
awareness of problems more than an
awareness of God’s nature
that is how you lose heart
that’s it
that’s the whole point
and over writing awareness of this
crisis this problem this uh Health bad
Health Report this issue in the nation
this uh conflict in the family whatever
being aware of problems is not evil in
and of itself but what happens is when
they are bigger in our Consciousness in
our awareness than our awareness of
God’s nature we will live in reaction to
the problem
men always ought to pray people always
ought to pray people ought to pray
continuously
without becoming
in the evil
all right this can take me a little work
are you alive
all right let me read this passage for
you out of Colossians 3.
you’re thinking
I have one person thinking this is scary
verse 1 of chapter three of Colossians
let me just read this to you if you then
were raised with Christ seek those
things which are above where Christ is
sitting at the right hand of God can I
listen to the logic involved here
biblical reasoning set your mind on
things above not on things on Earth for
you died and your life is hidden with
Christ in God
all right
now listen carefully
everything you’re instructed to do in
the Bible is intensely practical
if you over spiritualize
a principle
you will put it so far out of reach that
in your mind only the spiritual Giants
can accomplish it
when instruction is given to us the
ability to do the instruction is
imparted in the instruction
he enables What He commands
so when he says set your mind on
Heavenly things not Earthly things and
then he gives a reason why the reason is
you’re dead
and your life is hidden in Christ
all right are you thinking
why do you want to set your mind on
Earthly things because wherever you
anchor your mind is where you’re going
to Anchor your affections and wherever
you anchor your affections that’s the
reality you’re going to live in
how many of you have had a problem go on
in your life and it was so disturbing to
you you just couldn’t sleep at night you
just you just laid her awake all night
long all right
how many of you never have done that
does this no yes just Joe’s the only one
it’s awesome
she sleeps no matter what but the rest
of you
how many of you have
all right so we know that you know how
to meditate
[Laughter]
now we just have to change the subject
matter
all right you’re still working with me
all right
let me go to the church at Ephesus then
I want to come back to this colossian
passage
church at Ephesus
it um experience what I believe is one
of the two greatest revivals in the
Bible
in Acts 19 you see an unparalleled
outpouring of the spirit on the city of
Ephesus the way they drove the whole
cultic system out of their uh the
culture of their city is it’s
extraordinary perhaps the only other one
in the Bible that was equal in presence
and power would have been that of
Nineveh with the prophet Jonah
extraordinary outpouring of the spirit
the transformation of a city
transformation of a culture this church
was so successful that when the Apostle
Paul wrote them a letter called the
letter to the Ephesians
it’s the only epistle in which there is
not one word of Correction
every other letter he wrote had a word
of connect correction
so to in my thinking when I look at at
the church at Ephesus if if you’re the
Apostle Paul what kind of gift are you
going to give to the people who already
have everything
what my family says that I’m hard to
shop for because I need nothing this is
not true this is a lie my family has
fallen into a deception
it’s it’s so it’s totally true I’m not
looking at you Gabe
because he he doesn’t agree with me but
it’s true because I can go right now
down to the store and disciple any one
of you on how to shop for me
I I it it’s not even hard it’s not even
hard it flows effortlessly
[Laughter]
[Applause]
because I don’t need anything Esther
Esther
what do you give to a church that does
that has everything
Ephesians 1 17 you find out what he
wanted to give him I pray that God would
give you a spirit of wisdom and
revelation
but what’s the last phrase in the
knowledge of God
listen to me the knowledge of God is the
absolute Foundation of all knowledge
you don’t want to understand anything in
life that is inconsistent with the
nature of God or it will violate what
God is performing in you
is the reason the Bible says it is the
fool who says in his heart there is no
God
living and moving separate from a
consciousness of God actually gives
birth to Absolute foolishness
being aware of God living conscious of
God living conscious of the fact I will
give an account of my life is the actual
foundation for wisdom
in the Psalms he says teach us to number
our days that we might present to you
art of wisdom
are you alive still still breathing all
right
so here we have this passage in
Colossians it says
set your mind on Heavenly things not
Earthly things why because your life is
hidden there
what’s the implication
you will draw from that reality
to the degree you become aware of that
reality
the opposite is also true
if I live conscious of others where you
know I have people tell me all the time
we’re in such and such a church in uh
this city it’s a hard City
there’s so much destruction
Satan has ruled that City for so long
and it will continue that way it won’t
change it won’t change because the
people in charge to bring the change are
too impressed by the devil’s work
for many in this room the beginning of
your breakthrough starts when you stop
being impressed with the size of your
problem
it doesn’t mean we live in denial
doesn’t mean we we we deny something
that exists if there’s a medical report
it’s a bad medical report don’t pretend
it doesn’t exist that doesn’t help you
just don’t be impressed by it
don’t be impressed by it refuse to treat
sickness and demons with reverence
don’t whisper
oh did you hear what so-and-so they just
got diagnosed with and there’s a sense
of reverence it just annoys me to pieces
the enemy does not deserve that kind of
respect he does not deserve that kind of
respect don’t deal with the devil kindly
we’re not here to massage him into a
better place
so back to the issue on prayer
Jesus or Paul says in in Colossians set
your mind on things above because your
life’s hidden there
and if you you anchor your your your
awareness of God in his world his plan
his purposes then you will find
yourselves living from that reality
towards the broken conditions of this
world but if you don’t you will always
have a prayer life that begs God to
invade the middle of the problem that
you find yourself in
all right that went over well
there’s a difference between being
seated in Heavenly places with Christ
Living from the heart and mind of God
towards a problem
there’s a great difference between that
and the person
who is in the middle of a problem and is
begging God to come and fix it
we all start there
but it’s tragic to serve God for 20
years and still use that as your
platform for prayer
because he’s wanting us to live aware of
who he is what he’s like and what he has
done
live from that reality towards the
issues and situations of life
if I live in a reaction to problems
let’s say let’s say it’s a it’s a let’s
say it’s a conflict it’s a relational
conflict if I live
in reaction to that if I become
overwhelmed by the size of this conflict
I will live in reaction to the devil’s
work
here’s the problem
people do this all the time and they
they live in a reaction to a problem
they call it intercession
let me have a drink
[Applause]
if you can feel bad enough about
something you just give it a good name
that protects it
foreign
if I live in reaction to a problem
then the author of that problem
has had an influence on my thought life
and my behavior
you say well my behavior is rebuking
that’s fine he still influenced you
the devil has no
right to influence my agenda
you never see Jesus living in reaction
to the devil
he only lived in response to the father
there’s a world of difference between
the two
living in reaction to the devil is the
nature of some
of parts of of Church Life
I’m not saying nothing good can ever
happen I’m just saying it’s depressing
oh
depressing
because what motivates you is the devil
not the goodness of God
it’s a far inferior motivation to see
good things happen
so here is Jesus says
people
ought to always be praying
but never be
in evil not a part of it in overwhelmed
by the evil and the bad that surrounds
them more than they are aware of God’s
nature and then he takes them into an
understanding of the heart of a father
who has intimate personal care for his
children
any contrasts listen if you get this
kind of a reaction out of an evil judge
who has no fear of God and doesn’t even
like people
and you can get a good response how much
more here’s the contrast how much more
can you get a response from a loving
father who is moved by your heart’s cry
what did he do there he’s not just
sowing a trait of God he’s revealing
what keeps us fueled for endurance and
prayer it’s the overwhelming awareness
of God’s nature