Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Prisons are not only made of bars of steel. Thoughts of self-condemnation---sickness, disease, fear, worry, anxiety, suicide, death---are the most tormenting and wretched kinds of prisons. Not only does God want us free from all the secret condemnations, but free from all the powers of the darkness of this world. He desires that we be free from resentment, from pride, from envyings, from jealousy, from obsessions, and oppressions which have been eating away at us. It is not God's will for us to be so mentally bound, but just the opposite as He has given us total release from all negatives.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
"As far as the east is from the west." East and west never meet; that's how far He has removed our transgressions from us, never again to cross our paths in judgement of our lives.
A camera offers an appropriate anology of the means by which you can get results to prayer and find release from your prisons. If you want an answer to prayer, first you get your object in mind. You select what you want in your picture. This is step one; your clear on what you want. Secondly, you use the range finder and focus the subject properly. Then consider the length of exposure of the picture so that all factors may work together for a perfect picture. After all of this, shoot the picture.
When you are focused on the picture of what you want, keep your mind stayed on it. If you allow something eles to come in and take precedence over that picture you will get a blurred answer to prayer; you will not get the results you desire; you will not get release from the prison which is encasing you.
James 1:6-7
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord.
If you want to get rid of something today, you must focus, dwell on what you want. It is the introduction of light that dispells darkness, not the dwelling on the darkness that introduces light. Get your desire in mind, focus on it and then determine the exposure time needed.
If you want to get out of your prisons today, immediately change your thinking about your situation; change your subject of focus. As you change your thinking, you will draw a mental pattern for the things you want to do in your life, which in turn will dispel and root out those things you do not want. You may say, "Well, that is not an easy thing to do, but I am going to try it. With God's help according to His Word, I am going to get out of prison." However, if within half an hour you have forgotten to keep your thinking changed and you fall back into your old negative rut, you will be back living the same way you were before. Then don't wonder why you can't get an answer to prayer, why you cannot tap these resources, why the answer is not flowing as easily for you as it is for others, why you cannot have your release. The answer is that you only momentarily changed your mental image; you did not keep your picture in focus and allow proper exposure time.
The release from one's prison depends upon two things: clearness and concern---the two "C's" of release. Get clear on what is wanted and then become concerned about receiving it. Get God's Word of deliverance and release in your mind and into your heart; eat it, drink it, sleep it and walk with it. Every time you take a step or every time you think about your situation or condition thank God that the answer and your release is coming. Soon the negatives drop off and the positives become yours, the result of which is release from any prison you are in. It can be done; it will be done; for as Phillipians 4 says,
Phillipians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me.
Most people think that gaining spiritual results is like an air hammer---the harder one presses the hammer the quicker that he gets the job done. However, this is not the case. When we have stress and strain we tie ourselves into knots. It is not stress and strain, but believing and acting on the Word that brings release.
James 1:21
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
To "lay apart" means to "put off." We are to put off filthiness, the works of evil from the least to the worst form, and subjectively receive God's Word in the sense that we look to it and desire it because His Word is greater than we are. The "engrafted word" is the total implanted Word of God which He planted so close to us that we can absorb it until it becomes a part of us.
The truth of the Word and of Christ is our light and power in life; this is our release from fears, worries, anxieties, frustrations, heartaches, headaches, and everything else that comes along. This is our means to get out of negative prisons of self enslavement into the glorious liberty of children of God.
When you find yourself in one of life's prisons, get a positive clear picture of your freed self. Focus in on the positive image and thank God that right now you have the answer. Keep confessing and believing positively according to The Word, and your release will absolutely follow.
