At the end of the 7th video of Ed Smith’s latest training series, he does a good job of laying out some of the scriptural foundations for TPM. He admits on the DVD that this list is not exhaustive and invites others to explore the Scriptures for themselves to notice how prolific is the teaching that supports TPM, God’s Voice and Lie-based thinking.
So, after talking about scriptural underpinnings with the latest training group, I decided to list several key scriptures that I use in explaining TPM to someone who is new to the prayer ministry.
1. John 17: 16-17: In these verses, Jesus is praying to Father God. He says “They (speaking of us his followers) are not of this world, even as I am not of this world. Sanctify them in the Truth: Your word is Truth”. Essentially, he sees his followers as a different breed from those who conform to the patterns of our culture. The lies in each culture are those lies that children pick up most often. Jesus’ prayer is that the work of the Spirit will bring Truth to each individual so they can be changed. It is Truth that changes us, not righteousness. We become righteous by his blood and by our actions. But we become Sanctified by the Truth. TPM therefore is not really healing as much as it is sanctification: that is, it helps us to live Truth and become more like Jesus in this world.
2. John 21: I will let you read this chapter for yourself. But Peter, who has denied Jesus and is now aware that Jesus has risen from the dead, is depressed. He decides to go back to the only thing he knew how to do right: Fishing. But even that goes wrong…he can’t catch anything. At that moment, it is likely his sense of failure is being triggered. Then Jesus comes along and with a question (“You haven’t caught anything, have you?”) allows Peter to embrace his feelings. They throw the net on the other side of the boat and a new reality begins to form. With God in his life, maybe Peter won’t be a failure. So he jumps out of the boat and swims to Jesus. We don’t know what they talked about on the shore before everyone else arrives, but when they do come dragging their nets, Jesus is still doing TPM. Through a series of repetitive questions, Peter relives his three-fold denial of Jesus. But the difference this time is that Jesus has something to add to what Peter says. That is TPM: God adds his perspective and voice to ours.
3. John 10:3-4: In this passage, Jesus explains that his sheep listen for his voice. But then he adds, “But they will never follow the Stranger, because they don’t recognize the Stranger’s voice”. The Stranger represents the enemy of our souls, the Father of lies. Notice what the key antidote is to the lies of the stranger: The voice of the Good Shepherd. When we know his voice and follow that voice where it will lead us, the power and presence of the enemy’s voice begins to slide into the background.
4. Matthew 4:1-4: Many have taught that the answer to the lies of the enemy is to quote Scripture at him. They use this passage in Matthew 4 as the proof-text. But nothing could be further from the truth. In Jesus answer to the temptation “turn the stones into bread”, he calls upon a significant portion of Deuteronomy 8. In that section, Moses reminds us that God humbled the Israelites by feeding them Manna. Manna is this strange bread that had to be collected daily and had to be collected individually. What Jesus is telling satan is that unless the Father gives a specific message to him (i.e. “word”) then he will not be turning the stones into bread. This is what we live by in TPM. The Father’s word to us is more important than any scripture the enemy may throw at us.
5. 1 Cor. 13:11: In this verse, we have the very foundation of the two general categories of lies that we find in memories. Paul says “When I was a child, I talked like a child, thought like a child or reasoned like a child. When I became a man I put away childish things”. The word for “thought” means to “draw a conclusion”. Most lies we believe are from the childish conclusions we draw on life’s situations and crises. Then Paul says “I reasoned like a child”. The word for “reason” means “to decide on a course of action”. This is where the other lies come in. We observe life and then decide what we will do about it. Many times our childish courses of action are misguided but often habitual. Paul’s answer is revealing. The word for “putting away” means to completely destroy something. Lies don’t need to be placated or explained. They need to be destroyed. Only God’s Truth can do that.
Read over these Scriptural portions and decide what they are saying to you.