Faith is the first thing that is required as a Christian but also the hardest for people to practice. James 2:17 is clear "faith without works is dead." We must also do our part with consistent prayer and fasting. Many times we pray for God to move in our favor but get impatient when its not in OUR time. God already answers our requests in advance, there is just a period we have to go through as a test. He wants to know if we can really remain patient and faithful even if he doesn't see fit to give us an immediate response.
We are all familiar with the phrase, "if you're gonna pray about it, why worry...if you're going to worry about it, why pray?" So why do we? God promises to never leave or forsake us. If he is willing to always take care of us, why do we forsake him? When we turn to others for help or stress about things we enlisted him to help with, it is a reflection of our inner feelings. Not only can God hear our prayers, he knows our hearts. If the inner man is insecure and questions the motives of the Lord, then of course the testing time will be longer.
Matthew 21:22 says "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (NIV)
The key word is BELIEVE.
If you expect to receive something in exchange for prayer you have to believe it's coming. That means acting as if your prayer has already been answered, praising God even more for listening and letting his will be done.
If you expect to receive something in exchange for prayer you have to believe it's coming. That means acting as if your prayer has already been answered, praising God even more for listening and letting his will be done.
If you're wondering why some of your prayers haven't been answered or your blessing seems to be forgotten take comfort in knowing that a prayer delayed is not denied. But sometimes I wonder (yes, EVEN ME) ...why the delay? Isaiah 43:7 reminds us that we were created for HIS glory. If God did not delay some things in our lives we would become content and LAZY...we would always expect him to give us what we want right when we asked. God takes his time just to remind us who to count on and depend on for help, giving him the credit and appreciation he's due. Also, there are just some trials that are necessary to reveal the God in us. (Romans 8:18-30)
A friend of mine always says, the harder your trial, the shinier your crown...which proves to be true all the time. I find that the longer my waiting and testing period is, the more my blessing blows my mind. In my experience, STRONG faith has given me not only what I thought I wanted, but things I never knew I needed. God's time is not our time and his will is not always what we want or expect.
A friend of mine always says, the harder your trial, the shinier your crown...which proves to be true all the time. I find that the longer my waiting and testing period is, the more my blessing blows my mind. In my experience, STRONG faith has given me not only what I thought I wanted, but things I never knew I needed. God's time is not our time and his will is not always what we want or expect.
If you feel like God isn't moving in your favor, pray that he moves you closer to him.
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