Fear Is a Liar, Prayer is Power!
Fear whispers that you’ll never be enough, that God doesn’t hear you, and that prayer is pointless. However, the truth is that prayer is indeed powerful. In this episode of Heartfelt Conversations with Diana, we unpack what it means to bring our raw, honest selves before El Elyon—God Most High. Through scripture, David’s heartfelt prayers, Jesus’ example, and Diana’s own story of brokenness and healing, you’ll discover that God meets us in the midst of our mess. He hears the desperate cries, the tear-stained words, and even the prayers that feel more like weeping than speaking. If shame or fear has ever kept you from praying, this episode will remind you that God’s throne is a throne of grace, and prayer is your pathway to freedom.
Diana’s Notes
Fear Is a Liar, Prayer is Power!
Fear Is a Liar, Prayer is Power!
Hello everybody!!! And welcome to today’s episode, Fear Is a Liar, Prayer is Power, here on Heartfelt Conversations with Diana! Has anyone been taking walks, or lazy days by the water, or maybe a hike up a mountain, enjoying the beauty of nature and thanking God for all His goodness? I personally have been enjoying the smell of grapes from all the vineyards in the area. It smells amazing!!!
If you have not been getting out and enjoying nature, just try it, I think you will like it! LOL, and it is a really great way to get out of our heads and just simplify life so we can actually enjoy the day. Well, welcome to the conversation as we continue to lean in on the topic of prayer.
Last week, we talked a little about the confusion of prayer and how God responds to our prayers. That God is not a vending machine, a pop machine dispensing “our” selection, but He answers earnest prayers that are in line with His word. Kingdom laws and principles have already been established by El Elyon, a Hebrew name for God meaning God Most High.
Prayer is more than some random act of desperation; prayer connects us to God, and as believers, Christians, we are able to connect and communicate in a very personal, intimate way.
David’s prayers are often deeply personal and filled with praise, worship, tears, emotions, and vulnerabilities. If you are not comfortable bearing yourself before God, or have been taught God only wants sterile, religious prayers, go read Psalms and you will begin to see that God does not resent us or punish us when we seek Him with all of our emotions and concerns, fears, and doubts. God wants you to come to Him. And He wants you to know you can come to Him about anything and everything.
Psalm 57:2 (NLT) says, Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings until the danger passes by. I cry out to God Most High, to God Who will fulfill His purpose for me.
We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. We don’t need to search aimlessly in hope for the answers regarding our lives. It is so simple that we can miss it, or maybe we think we don’t want God meddling. Isn’t that a hoot? We think God meddles. God does not need to meddle in your life. He has a plan already for you, a good plan. He lovingly leaves it up to us to invite Him in. We think we know what is best, but in the verse we just read, David, who was waiting to be God’s anointed king one day, was on the run for his life. David was not afraid of much. He killed a lion and a bear protecting his father’s sheep as a young shepherd. David killed Goliath for King Saul, but in jealousy, Saul wanted David dead. David knew his life and protection were in the hands of El Elyon - God Most High.
David trusted himself, his very life to God.
Jesus set the example for us while He was here on earth. Jesus was known for praying. Jesus knew the importance of prayer.
Mark 1:35: (NLT) Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.
The greatest thing we can do for the health of our lives, the health and healing of our entire being (heart, mind, soul, body), is to surrender our pride and humble ourselves before God, knowing that through His Son Jesus, we have everything right now that we need to have a full, whole, satisfying life.
Although I was not being chased down to be slaughtered by a king, my life had seen its own trauma, and more out of desperation than faith, I cried out to God for help.
Last week, we spoke about how I needed God to be God. My life was so shattered and broken. I was afflicted with soul trauma, and nothing in this world could help me or heal me. My only hope was that God was who He said He was and that His word is The Truth and The Way for my eternal salvation, yes, but His Word was The Way for my healing while here on earth.
We talked about how my prayer was really an overflow of all the brokenness of my life coming out. If anyone had been a fly on the wall listening in, it would have sounded more like weeping, bitterness of heart, and desperation than a prayer. Thankfully, unlike the world, God goes beyond what is seen to the unseen places. He sees the vulnerability of our hearts. He does answer our prayers, even the messy ones, when we call out in earnest to Him.
Psalm 34:18 in the AMP bible reads: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and He saves those who are crushed in spirit (contrite in heart, truly sorry for their sin).
After all the angry words and bitter words from my brokenness, I did break down and tell God I was sorry. I was so sorry for not listening to Him when I was young, for turning my back on Him when life seemed to fall apart. I was sincere, and as He promised, He was faithful to me when I had not been faithful to Him.
Another verse in Psalm 34 speaks to me needing God to be God. To be who He says He is.
Actually, in my bible, I have Psalm 34:4 marked 6 times as a reminder through my journey of healing that He heard my cry that day, and He has faithfully been delivering me from all my fears ever since.
Here is what Psalm 34:4 says: I sought (inquired of) the Lord and required Him (of necessity and on the authority of His Word), and He heard me, and He delivered me from all my fears.
Listen to the first eight verses of Psalm 34. I find these words so comforting, and maybe if you are dealing with any struggles, pain, or suffering, you will find comfort in them as well.
Psalm 34:1-8 (AMP)
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My life makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble and the afflicted hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought(inquired of) the Lord and required Him (of necessity and on the authority of His Word), and He heard me, and He delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him, and their faces were radiant; their faces shall never blush for shame or be confused. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him ( who revere and worship Him with awe) and each of them He delivers. O taste and see that the Lord (our God) is good! Blessed ( happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him.
Don’t treat God like a pop machine, don’t block him out of your life, or try to find all the right buttons to push. Simply let God be God and trust Him and Him alone with your life, and I can attest to the fact that you will taste and see that He is good!
We are wise and save ourselves a lot of stress and heartache when we trust and take refuge in Him.
I broke down and cried out to God out of necessity and sought His forgiveness for my cold shoulder to Him, and for the last 9 years, He has been refreshing me with His goodness.
It has not been an easy journey! I think anyone who suffers or has suffered from soul wounds, trauma, heartbreak, emotional wounds, or physical wounds knows that recovery is not easy. Physical therapy and emotional therapy are not easy journeys. It takes, as they say at Valley Family Church, both “ grace and grit”! Sometimes we have to grit our teeth and push through the uncomfortable, knowing God’s grace surrounds us and comforts us. God will dispense exactly what you need for your healing as you need it, but we all have to learn to trust in Him.
One of the most powerful ways you can begin to trust God with your life is through prayer. Having intimate, personal, heartfelt conversations with God, our Father, in the Name of Jesus.
When Jesus is our Savior, part of our new life is the gift of an intimate relationship with God, our heavenly Father. Whether you had a good, loving father growing up or not, it does not limit God’s goodness toward you.
We limit it.
We limit His goodness when we limit His access to all the areas of our lives. God isn’t just God on Sunday or a particular day of worship or Sabbath. God is God 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Like last week’s verse in Psalms 121, He neither sleeps nor slumbers when it comes to His children.
One of the stumbling blocks Satan used to keep me from learning this truth was by trying to keep me on the path of shame, guilt, and fear. Every time I started to make progress and take a step forward in faith, Satan would remind me of my past, my faults and failures, and all the people in my life that I have let down. He constantly reminded me of just how insignificant I was, and all of this effort to learn how to follow Jesus was just a waste of time.
Usually, when I would go to God in prayer, the attacks would come.
I would try to pray, but then all the shame of my past would rise up, the guilt I had about not being the mom to my kids that I should have been, wanted to be, and shame would take me under like a tidal wave. Fear that I would never be good enough for God would cause me to shrink back, and I would yield to all my thoughts and shy away from praying to God.
One of the songs we have listed on the notes for today is Fear Is A Liar, by Zach Williams. Listen to the lyrics -
When he told you you're not good enough
When he told you you're not right
When he told you you're not strong enough
To put up a good fight
When he told you you're not worthy
When he told you you're not loved
When he told you you're not beautiful
That you'll never be enough
When he told you that, you were troubled
You'll forever be alone
When he told you, you should run away
You'll never find a home
When he told you you were dirty
And you should be ashamed
When he told you you could be the one
That grace could never change
(The bridge)
Fear, he is a liar
He will take your breath
Stop you in your steps
Fear, he is a liar
He will rob your rest
Steal your happiness
Cast your fear into the fire
Cause fear, he is a liar
Thank you, Jesus, that we don’t have to become good enough for God. We don’t have to earn our way back to His throne of Grace. First, we never could anyways, not on our own merits, but by faith in Jesus, His Son, as Believers and Receivers of the work Jesus did on the cross. It is because of Jesus that we are freely able to go to the Father. By the Blood of the Lamb, we are free indeed! Fear that we will never be good enough for God is a lie!
Jesus did all the work, believe in us. We just need to simply Believe it and receive it.
For quite a while, I didn’t know that. I kept trying to earn my forgiveness, earn my way back to be acceptable to God, and then, when I began to learn about living with a New Covenant mindset, I didn’t really understand it all, which is why I am so grateful to Pastor Beth’s series of Getting a Grip on the Basics.
If you were able to join in on last week's conversation, you might remember me telling you that the Founding Pastor of Valley Family Church, Beth Jones, tells us in her Bible Study Workbook, Getting A Grip on the Basics of Prayer, that we are pre-wired to pray. It is in our spiritual DNA, “at our core, talking to and hearing from our Creator is the cry of every human heart.”
I didn’t know that God’s word is filled with His promises to us, His children. And that we, through our relationship with Jesus, have an inherited right and privilege to come boldly to the throne of grace.
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
But every time I wanted to boldly go to God, shame, one of Satan’s tactics to try and steal our New Covenant freedom, would rise up, and I would cower in fear and let my past steal my future.
John 10:10: (ESV) “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Satan’s real goal is to steal your life, both now and for all eternity, but Jesus came to bring us life, to be fully alive in Him, while we are waiting to spend eternity with Him. Our true enemy, Satan, has one goal. To destroy your life, to prevent you, and keep you from knowing the real truth. He whispers lies in your head all day long, reminding you of just how imperfect you are. But Jesus tells us that we don’t have to fall for that trick anymore. News flash: God already knows we are imperfect, which is why Jesus came to fulfill the law of the Old Testament and teach us about God’s kingdom.
Pressure off - Game on, devil! No more stealing our lives. We need to start claiming our freedom and get God’s word in us so that we can resist him when he shows up trying to keep us down, miserable, never satisfied, and always questioning ourselves. And he does not want you to go to God in prayer.
Satan loses his power and hold over us when we learn that our imperfections do not prevent us from going to God. He prefers that we hide in fear like Adam and Eve did, when they hid from God when sin entered the world, and for the first time they realized they were naked.
One of the most significant lessons I think we can learn is that the awareness of our shortcomings should not prevent us from being able to pray, but that it makes the privilege all the more sweeter, knowing it is because He first loved us, while we were still sinners. He isn’t waiting for you to be perfect, so why should you wait?
Romans 5:8: (NLT) But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.
John 3:16-19: (NLT) For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
It’s okay that you are not perfect! God knows we are human, we sin, we screw up, we make mistakes, and sometimes we are just plain selfish. God already knows it all, which is exactly why we need to go to God in prayer. Seeking His wisdom, His guidance, that His will be done in our lives and on this earth. Not our will, not the government’s will, not anyone else's will but God’s. He has a perfect plan for you and me. When we are humble enough to admit our faults and failures it opens up an earnest, heartfelt conversation with Him that will lead to a deeper trust and fellowship with Him.
God does not judge our behavior when we receive Jesus. He helps us grow. One day, those who do not receive Jesus as their Savior will be judged for not believing in God’s One and Only Son.
We come boldly to God’s throne in prayer because of what Jesus has already done; it has nothing to do with your past or even present sins.
I know it feels like we should be this perfect little person who gets all A’s in the subject of life. We are always kind when we are supposed to be. We do everything flawlessly. And when we are feeling pretty good about ourselves, we go to God, thinking our behavior and our good works get us our answers.
Spoiler alert. We could never be good enough, flawless enough, have good enough behavior to ever be holy enough, righteous enough to stand before God.
Never.
That is why Jesus came to earth. He paid for our sins, so that we who believe can go to the Father in prayer. God sees you and me through the blood of Jesus. It is His righteousness that makes us in right standing with God.
I can still struggle with this. There are times when I go to the Father in prayer, and as I am praying, Satan slips my mess-ups into my mind and tries to break my fellowship with God. It’s hard to pray and believe the Father will hear my prayer when I begin to question the right to ever ask in the first place.
Sometimes, I have to say, Satan, I know what you are doing and it won’t work, I am before the Father in Jesus’ Name, not in the name of Diana. So your lies won’t work, Jesus told me to go to the Father in His Name and that is what I am doing…. And then I keep praying.
Jesus right now is at the right hand of God. He is our High Priest, and with Jesus as our High Priest, God’s throne is a throne of grace.
Hebrews 4:14-16: (NLT) So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Satan does not want you to realize the power of prayer, and he absolutely does not want you to understand the freedom we now have with Jesus as our Savior.
You have more power over him than you may be aware of, and it is time that we take possession of the power and authority in the Name of Jesus we have been given.
Hebrews 4:12 (NLT) For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.
Don’t allow yourself to be fooled or tricked into believing prayer is a last resort thing. Prayer is our way to fellowship with God, to praise Him and worship Him, to draw closer to Him and deepen our trust and faith in Him. To talk to Him about the things on our hearts and minds.
And!!! What Satan really, really does not want you to come to believe and know for yourself is that God’s Word is ALIVE and POWERFUL.
His Word written in the Bible is not just ink on pages; they are God’s Holy Word. I cannot explain it or rationalize it with you. I can only tell you by faith and practical experience that I know that I know that I know- His Word is Alive, and His Will for you is revealed to you as you walk with Him - day by day. His daily bread will feed your spirit, strengthening you from the inside out.
When you stop blaming yourself, and stop blaming others for everything going wrong in your life and you begin going to God asking Him to direct your steps, forgiving those who hurt you, forgiving yourself for not being perfect, you will become stronger and more stable in your faith, you will begin to see with your spiritual eyes all the tricks and tactics and lies that you used to fall for.
Satan fears people who engage in zealous, passionate prayers. How engaging are you when you feel gloomy, downcast, blah, anxious? It is hard to be a passionate, engaging person when you are down and out. Which is the state of mind Satan prefers us to remain in?
God does not want us filled with fear and anxiety, and feeling too timid to go to Him.
2 Timothy 1:7: (KJB) “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
Philippians 4:6-7: (NIV)“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
I am not sure where you are in your journey with Jesus, but I hope that as you grow in your faith, your prayer life will increase so you may be strengthened within your inner man.
You will see the greatest change in your life when you willingly submit to God and His plan for your life. Nothing scares Satan more than when we live by grace and draw closer to God, little by little, day by day.
I have put another link to Pastor Beth’s video on Prayer: God Likes It When We Ask! On our notes for today’s conversation.
I have also put a link to The Basics With Beth on the notes, where you can learn more through her books, online teaching, apps, podcast, and more.
https://www.thebasicswithbeth.com
Today, let’s close our time together with this prayer over us as we learn to fix our eyes on Jesus and walk by faith, being led by His Spirit, the Holy Spirit:
Ephesians 3:14-21: (NIV)
For this reason, I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
I hope you will take a moment and go to our website, heartfeltconversations.com, and listen to this week's songs to inspire you. I believe they will bless you and strengthen you!
You are superabundantly loved and adored! See ya next time on Heartfelt Conversations with Diana!
Songs to inspire you
Cochren & Co. - Running Home (Official Lyric Video)
Zach Williams - Fear Is a Liar (Official Lyric Video)
Crowder, Zach Williams - Still (Official Music Video)
Encouraging Verses:
Isaiah 42:16: God’s Word Translation
I will lead the blind on unfamiliar roads. I will lead them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light in front of them. I will make rough places smooth. These are the things I will do for them, and I will never abandon them.
Isaiah 54:10: Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
Psalm 119:105: Your word is a light unto our path and a light unto our feet.
Isaiah 54:17: But in that coming day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD; their vindication will come from me. I, the LORD, have spoken!
Isaiah 52:12: (EASY) But you will not have to hurry and run away. No, the Lord, Israel's God, will keep you safe. He will lead you at the front, and He will be your guard at the back.
Matthew 7:11: So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
1 Peter 2:23 tells us - When He was insulted, He did not answer back with an insult; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but placed His hopes in God, the righteous Judge.
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
1 Peter 2:12 says, “Live such good lives among the pagans that… they may see your good deeds and glorify God.”
The New Living Translation reads it this way: Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Now choose life."
Luke 6:37 “Forgive, and you will be forgiven”.
Matthew 6:14: If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
Romans 8:31 in the AMP Bible tells us: What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us?
Psalm 65:11: You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
Psalm 32:8: The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.
Proverbs 15:3: The Lord sees everything, whether good or bad.
1 Peter 5:7: Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
Foundation Verse
Romans 8:11
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living in you. “
Additional Resources
These Two Resources Changed My Life:
Beth Jones: Getting a Grip on the Basics is a great resource to help you get the basics of how vital you are to God and how good He desires to be to you: https://www.thebasicsuniversity.com
Joyce Meyer: The Mind is a Battlefield - https://joycemeyer.org
Additional Resources:
Steven Furtick: Triggered Taking Back Your Mind in the Age of Anxiety
JimmyEvans: The time is Now to Change Your Attitude
https://endtimes.substack.com/p/the-time-is-now-to-change-your-attitude
Prayer of Salvation
Jesus has given salvation, healing, and countless benefits to all who call upon His name. These benefits can be yours if you receive Him into your heart by saying this prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come to You admitting that I am a sinner. Right now, I choose to turn away from sin, and I ask You to cleanse me of all unrighteousness. I believe that Jesus rose again from the dead so that I may be justified and made righteous through faith in Him. I call upon the name of Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Lord of my life. Jesus, I choose to follow You, and I ask that You fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit. I declare right now that I am a born again, child of God. I am free from sin and full of the righteousness of God. I am saved in Jesus’ name. Amen.
This prayer and the comment above, were taken out of the book:
Secrets to Powerful Prayer - Discovering the Languages of the Heart
By Lynne Hammond and Patsy Cameneti
If you have just received Jesus as your Savior, please write Lynne Hammond Ministries at:
PO Box 29469
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55429-2946
Or, email one of the ministries listed on the Additional Resources Tab and let them know that you are a brand new Christian and need some direction on the next steps for your new life in Christ.
Or email us here at Heartfelt Conversations with Diana and we will pass along your information for you.
Congratulations if you are a brand new Christian or if you have Returned Home! Welcome!!! Get in God’s Word and get it into you!
Diana’s Home Church:
Valley Family Church - Pastor’s Eric and Alexa Jones
www.valleyfamilychurch.org
Other recommended Jesus-centered churches who teach the True Word of God:
Elevation Church - Steven Furtick
https://elevationchurch.org/
Joseph Prince Ministries - Joseph Prince
https://www.josephprince.org/
Joyce Meyer Ministries
https://joycemeyer.org/