In this fourth and final episode, Carl discusses a thief of prayer, which can no doubt hinder us. Our conscience is sensitive and if ignored, can become callous. Those who walk in sustained unforgiveness will have their prayers hindered and the first epistle of John warns us about this very issue. A persistent feeling of condemnation can also be a hindrance if we do not resolve the issue. The Apostle Paul strove for a pure conscience, which he considered essential for ongoing faith in Christ. Join Carl now as we wrap up the series regarding eight restrictions to our prayers…
Here is a complete transcript of the broadcast (below)…
Friend, this is our fourth and final session on keys to answered prayer. This is going to be a very short session as I round off the eight reasons or restrictions to answered prayer in your life. What I want you to do, friend, while I’m rattling these off, I want you to be searching your own heart, asking the Holy Spirit, are there some issues of pride or worry or offense that I need to deal with? And then, friend, go to 1 John 1:9, “confess your sin,” release these issues, and then feel the vibrant grace of God in your life and the confidence return so that you may boldly approach the throne of grace when you next petition. Now, following this broadcast, I’m going to ask the Lord for words of wisdom and words of knowledge by the Holy Spirit for you, the radio listener. I am going to go into specific names and ailments and whatever else the Lord wants to deal with, because you, my friend, are my congregation as well. I take it personal that you’re listening to my broadcast, and I wish to sow into you, friend. So stay tuned until after this short segment, and I will bless you with a word from the Lord. So here we are, live in session at DHOP, rounding off this fourth and final segment. I’m using an extreme example. Fighting with your spouse is like going, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, right? All the single people are like, hey, man, that’s not holding me back, whoo! I can get all my prayers answered.
Unforgiveness is a thief. It says there’s a thief unto death. 1 John 5:17, I will not pray for him. You can read it yourself, 1 John 5.17, “There is a sin unto death, and John says, I will not pray for it.” Why would you not pray for it? Because it’s a decision, okay? Someone described unforgiveness as drinking from a poisoned well and expecting the other person to get sick. Whoa. Have you ever had an argument with someone? You come back in three weeks and you go, Yeah, I’m still thinking about what you told me, brother. He’s like, What’s your name again? I mean, you’ve been meditating on this thing for weeks, man. He’s like, La, la, la, whatever. Friends, we need to let go of some stuff. Condemnation. If our hearts condemn us not, we have confidence. Condemnation can be tied to offense. It can be tied to unforgiveness. So, no love walk. Oh, man, all these things are intertwined, aren’t they? Galatians 5:6, “Faith works by love.” No love, no faith. Pride.
God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. So, look, we can all relate to every one of these. Worry. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication. Let it go. This should be our checklist for daily living. Because, friends, we don’t want our prayers to be hindered. Life’s too short. One of these issues is probably plaguing you right now. And so the activation we’re going to go into is the Lord’s Supper. And we’re going to take that right now. And we’re going to look at our hearts and go, Lord, is there anything on this list that I need to address? Now, friend, on the other side of this brave decision is freedom. Freedom. So when you walk out of this room, I’m going to start praying for some stuff because I’m going to get some answers. Amen? Friend, that was the fourth and final part of our session. For keys to answered prayer. We have to realize that God is a good God.
It is His will that we bring the kingdom of God to this earth. His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, as it says within the Lord’s Prayer. And we talked about petition mainly. We listed six other prayers. But petition is the focus of this study. Asking the Father in the name of Jesus. Then we have to see ourselves as a little child. We are humble. We are meek. We are not self-sufficient Then we have to see ourselves seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We are the body of Christ attached to the head. Amen? And when we see ourselves in a place of victory as a part of the triumphant church, we can then enforce our authority and request petitions from the Father as we come boldly to His throne of grace. Amen? We don’t ask and we don’t keep on asking for the same petition. We were warned against this in Matthew 6, verse 7, where it says, “When you pray, don’t use vain repetitions,” friend. This is nonsensical. It is redundant. Our Father hears us the first time. We don’t need to go over and over again. Remember my analogy about the dress. Amen? That came from Pastor John Osteen. Then we talked about the sovereignty of God. We touched upon it briefly. John Wesley said, It seems God is limited by our prayer life that He can do nothing for humanity unless someone asks Him.
And friend, there’s an asking part of God. Ask, seek, knock. There’s a reason. God honors you as a free moral agent on the earth. He honors your will. Amen? And we need to check our hearts that they’re not condemning us before we come to the Father. A heart check is a major component of petitioning the Father. Getting right with God. Getting right with your spouse. Trying to make right any offense against you. Then we talked about 17 things that God cannot do. And a lot of people are surprised by that. And then 1 Timothy 3:9 talks about a pure conscience. And as you have that pure conscience, it’s a mystery that Paul talked about. You can sleep better at night. You can rest easy knowing you did your best. But you’ve cast your care. You’ve cast worry, anxiety, unbelief, and fear. Remember Jesus said, Fear not and only believe. So there is a fear component. I remember a quote from Edwin Cole. And I’m going to read it to you now. It says, Faith is believing that what you cannot see will come to pass.
Fear is believing what you cannot see will come to pass. It’s exactly the same statement, friend. Either you have faith in God or faith in the devil. Which one is it? And as you meditate upon God’s word, your faith in God will increase. Then the capacity to receive will also increase. And your ability to receive the petitions and desires of your heart will also increase. Amen? And then finally, we talked about 8 things that would actually restrict answered prayer. They were unbelief, number one. Talking about Jesus doing no mighty works in Nazareth. Remember that? In Matthew 13:58. Then we have doubt. And it’s said in the scripture, You can have faith and doubt not. Which means you can have faith and doubt at the same time. Then number three, offense. Not treating people with love. Amen? Number four, unforgiveness as a thief. Mentioned in 1 John 5:17 and Mark 11:25. Number five, condemnation. If our hearts condemn us not, then we have confidence towards God. Number six, the love walk. Or no love walk, rather. If faith works by love, Galatians 5:6, then our actual faith walk will be hindered by our lack of love. And then number seven, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. And finally, number eight, be anxious for nothing. Remember Philippians 4:6. One of the most powerful verses when it comes to prayer, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus.”
Notice that the peace of God is keeping your heart and mind through Christ. But we have to cast our care first. Then we enter into prayer and supplication, which is asking God for help with thanksgiving. And the reason we’re giving thanks is because we’re believing that our prayers are answered then and there. And they shall manifest in God’s timing, amen. Friend don’t give up on the Father. There may have been things you prayed about for years that never manifest. Put them aside right now. Don’t give up on the goodness of the Father, amen. So right now I’m going to move into words of knowledge. And the first one I have is for Sylvia. Now Sylvia has a bad back. What I’m getting for you is that your back gets progressively better in the day, but when you wake up in the morning, it’s really hurting. And what I saw was it’s actually a mattress issue. A word of practicality here, that your mattress is really hurting your back. You need to get a stiffer mattress. I feel like the one you’ve got right now is too soft. That’s a practical word, friends. And so Sylvia, if that’s you, shoot me an email. I’d love to hear from you, but receive that word. And I have David. David has a recurring infection. I believe it’s viral. It’s like a viral nasal infection, a lot of mucus. He can’t seem to shake it off. I’m hearing unforgiveness for you, David. And the unforgiveness is towards a family member. It’s not someone who’s an acquaintance or a friend, but a close family member who has done you wrong, certainly. And you have every right to be upset with this person.
However, this unforgiveness is a thief, and it’s robbing you from the full manifestation of your healing. And heaven forbid, I would not want you to continue struggling in this mysterious state, because you’ve been to the doctor, and he can’t seem to do anything with it. And of course, with anything viral, there’s not much doctors can do. But I feel like the Lord is, if you just release that issue close at hand that’s been there for, I want to say, about a year, you’d be most upset emotionally as well. If you confess by faith unforgiveness and release it, then your emotions will line up, and you will feel like your old self. And that freedom that comes from releasing unforgiveness will manifest into your physical body, and you will receive healing. Friend, unresolved issues in the emotions, in the soul, can hinder the full manifestation of our healing in the flesh. Now, another person I’m getting that has an ailment is Maureen. Maureen, I see that you have swollen feet. Your feet swell in the day, and just a lot of agitation. And again, you need to look at your insoles, or purchase some insoles that have better heels. Because right now, your feet are killing you every day, as you keep saying, but it’s a swelling because your shoes are not correctly balanced. They’re quite worn, and you need to look into getting some insoles. So that’s a word for Maureen, David, and Sylvia. And I know none of you guys.
Shoot me an email if that resonated with you. Some of these things are spiritual. Some of these things are practical. But you know, friend, God cares about the practical side of life. Many times, God has shown me some things. You know, even like you need to get your tires balanced, or your wheels aligned, or whatever. He’s involved in the small details of this life. It doesn’t have to be a big, amazing thing every time. He’s the Holy Spirit. He’s our friend. He’s our comforter, our standby, our strengthener, someone who’s here in a time of need. And friends, He knows your needs before you ask, and He can see what you’re going through. So ask the Holy Spirit to be more involved every day in your life, and you will see Him manifest most assuredly. But friend, there’s also people listening to this message who are very sick, and some people may have terminal diseases, and they’re latching onto the hope that God can heal them. Friend, if that’s you right now, I want you to reach out in faith, and believe with me. ‘m going to pray, and I want you to agree with what I’m saying. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, I curse every sickness and disease within the sound of my voice, in the name of Jesus. Brain tumors, cancer, Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases, colon issues, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis. I curse you at the root and declare that the workings in your body are null and void as you are covered in the blood of the Lamb. And any form of sickness and disease that would come against the saints, that would come against the righteousness of God, Father, by your stripes we were healed. Past tense. We’re standing on Matthew 8:17. We’re standing on Psalm 103. We’re standing on Isaiah 53.
We’re standing on 1 Peter 2:24. And we declare right now that wherever my brother or sister are, as they apply their faith and agree with me, according to Matthew 18:19, “where two are touching anything as in agreement, it shall be done by my Father in heaven.” Right now, Father, I pray the prayer of faith that these sickness and diseases be cursed in Jesus’ name, and that the body would line up with the word of God. Every muscle, sinew, cartilage, tendon, ligament, nerve must line up with the word of God in the name of Jesus. And we curse every form of bacteria and viral infection and any kind of obstacle that is in their life. And we declare that they are healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ. We remind Satan of Philippians 2:9, “Wherefore God also highly exalted Jesus and gave him a name which is above every name.” And we declare the name of Jesus is above cancer and AIDS and STDs and anything else that is affecting the body of Christ right now who are hearing my words. The name of Jesus is a healing name. It is Jehovah Rapha. I pray in the blessed name of the Lord. Amen. Friend, we have some great topics coming up. I’m looking at my list of the broadcasts to come. So stay tuned.
Title: Keys to Answered Prayer-Part 4 (LIVE)
https://carljosephministries.com/podcast/keys-to-answered-prayer-part-3-live/
https://www.gotquestions.org/prayer-conditions.html
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Edwin Louis Cole
Six Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What is the main focus of Part 4 in the “Keys to Answered Prayer” series?
Part 4 wraps up the series by outlining eight specific hindrances to answered prayer, including unforgiveness, pride, condemnation, and worry. Pastor Carl emphasizes the importance of a pure conscience, heart checks, and walking in love in order to maintain an effective prayer life.
2. How does unforgiveness affect our prayers?
According to 1 John 5:17 and Mark 11:25, unforgiveness is a major spiritual block to answered prayer. Pastor Carl describes it as a “thief,” explaining that harboring bitterness damages our soul and can even impact our physical health. Releasing forgiveness is essential to restoring intimacy with God and receiving healing.
3. What is the connection between condemnation and unanswered prayer?
Carl explains that a heart filled with condemnation lacks the confidence necessary for effective prayer. Drawing from 1 John 3:21–22, he teaches that if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have boldness with God. Condemnation often stems from unresolved sin, offense, or a failure to walk in love—issues that must be addressed before approaching God in prayer.
4. Why is a “pure conscience” emphasized in this episode?
Referencing 1 Timothy 3:9, the Bible teaches that a pure conscience is a spiritual mystery and a key to ongoing faith. It allows believers to rest in the knowledge that they’re right with God, which strengthens their faith and their ability to receive answered prayer. Without it, doubt and self-condemnation creep in.
5. What are the “eight restrictions” to answered prayer Pastor Carl mentioned?
Here are the eight hindrances detailed in the broadcast:
- Unbelief – Knowing the truth but refusing to act on it (Matthew 13:58).
- Doubt – Faith mixed with uncertainty (James 1:6).
- Offense – A lack of love toward others (1 Peter 3:7).
- Unforgiveness – Holding grudges that block spiritual flow (Mark 11:25).
- Condemnation – A guilty conscience weakens faith (1 John 3:21).
- No love walk – Faith works through love (Galatians 5:6).
- Pride – God resists the proud (James 4:6).
- Worry/Anxiety – Double-mindedness cancels faith (Philippians 4:6).
6. How can I move past these hindrances and receive answers to prayer?
Pastor Carl encourages believers to examine their hearts, confess sin based on 1 John 1:9, and cast all care onto the Lord. He reminds listeners that God hears prayers the moment they’re prayed, and manifestation happens in His perfect timing. Releasing offense, walking in humility and love, and maintaining confidence in God’s character are crucial steps toward breakthrough.
Carl is an authority. He is a biblical scholar, minister, author, husband, father, and life coach. In his mid-twenties he had a powerful encounter with God and saw miraculous healings as a result. Carl is a unique researcher who investigates current affairs, societal trends, prophecy, technology, cults, and end time events, all through a biblical lens.
Carl holds a Doctorate in Theology (Th D). His Alma Mata includes: Salford University, Manchester, UK, Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London, UK, Rhema Bible Training College (Tulsa), and Southwestern Christian University (Oklahoma City).
Carl Joseph Ministries empowers believers in Christ to fulfill their God given potential. Join Carl every other Monday on the Lions Unchained Podcast, available on Spotify, iTunes and other mainstream platforms.
He currently resides in Colorado, with his lovely wife Amy, and their three children.
