Have you ever heard a sermon that you knew God placed you in that moment at that time to hear that word? This happened to me the other day. The sermon was about praising God for what he has done and not focusing on what he hasn’t done. Who me? No way that is me. I pray the good prayers always believing God to do the great things, right? As I began to search myself and in some way take myself back in my times of prayer God began to pick out parts of my heart that carried more unbelief in what I felt that he hasn’t done than belief in what he has already done and currently doing. Is that the reason we don’t see the miraculous happen as much here in America? Do we carry more concern for the prayers unanswered than we do for the prayers we are currently praying? I want to dive deeper in to this. Thanks to my friend Jeremiah Johnson for being obedient to the Lords voice and delivering this message.
In Matthew 11 John the Baptist, while in prison, sends his disciples to ask Jesus if He is the one or if they should be expecting someone else. Jesus replies not by saying yes but by saying, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise, and good news proclaimed to the poor.” The word says besides Jesus there was no one greater born of a woman than John, yet here he is with a spirit of unbelief towards Jesus most likely based on his current circumstance. How many times have we been there before? I know I have plenty of times. Too often have I approached the throne of the Father expecting great things and asking for bold things yet still hanging on to what God hasn’t done and the prayers that have gone unanswered. Remember John has experienced the power of God in a former season yet still finds doubt in the power of God in light of his current circumstance. For so long I have been guilty of this. I have seen God move in myself and in others yet when I face a trial I question God as to where He is or what He is doing. We have to start filling our minds with what God is doing and what He has done and stop filling it with what He hasn’t. (Im going to repeat this a lot during this so get used to it!)
You see many of us are not able to see signs and wonders manifest outwardly because we are bound up internally. We set our eyes upon our circumstances and when we do that we can’t release healing and miracles to others. We allow our unbelief and offense towards God for unanswered prayers become a hindrance to the miraculous. We fill our minds with a record of what God hasn’t done for us and we justify our own unbelief and position ourselves to be offended over the next unanswered prayer. We should continually and constantly call to memory and keep record of the long list of what God has done and is currently doing and then we will always be reminded of just how great He is. I have constantly approached the throne with lack and thoughts of prayers unanswered when I should begin my prayer and my every day with thanksgiving and praise for the greatness that has already been completed and the greatness to come.
Too often we go to the worship place looking for a reason to worship Him when in all reality we should worship Him because He is worthy of all our praise whether we feel like it or not! We have to stop going through the motions waiting for God to manifest himself so that we can worship Him and instead walking in ready to worship because He is worthy. Not because of what He can do for us but just because of who He is.
The greatest way to reach the lost and help people encounter the love of God is through our testimony of what God has done in us. When we have on tap the account of God working in our life we are prophesying to others that WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR ME HE CAN DO FOR YOU!! When we use our testimony we give account to the miracles from Him in the midst of our challenges. And that is exactly what God wants from us. Every miracle that God performs in our lives paves the way to prepare us for the next unexpected challenge we face. It gives us something to stand on for the next storm that comes in to our lives. When we continually fill our minds with the greatness of God there is no room for fear, anxiety, and depression. Our minds become like a fortress to the attack of the enemy when we constantly draw to memory the great things God has done and praise Him for them!
When we do this I believe our prayers become more powerful and greater miracles will happen. When we praise Him for His works instead of beginning with lack our prayers carry a certain power to them rather than doubt.
Read Psalm 145. SERIOUSLY! What a great example of David proclaiming the greatness of God.
Lord forgive me for being offended and keeping track of the times I felt you weren’t there or didn’t answer my prayer. Forgive me for first having unbelief before giving you praise. Bring back the great times where you have rescued me, redeemed me, loved me, and blessed me. God I want my testimony to be centered and focused only on the greatness of you and would my testimony be used by you to set people free and direct them towards your unfathomable love. Renew my mind and heart Lord so that I will be refreshed in my thoughts towards you. I love you Father.
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