Post by solitarysoul on Jan 21, 2007 21:24:48 GMT -5
Today's Scripture
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)
Today's Word
There is a big difference in faith and hope. When we hope, we are simply wishing that what we want will come to pass, but we do not know for sure that it will. Faith on the other hand, is knowing something. Real faith is definite and free of doubt. In fact, I've found through experience that doubtful people tend to encounter more situations that would cause doubt, because they are being tested. Our attitudes will shape us and our lives. If you choose to doubt because you are too anxious or vulnerable to let go of your pride and give everything to God in faith, then you can most certainly expect to just face more doubtful situations in the future. You can't have real faith and trust in God if you are a doubtful person.
I've known many people who say, "I hope so", or "I want to", or "I've been praying for it", but then they say, "but I doubt it". But when we doubt, we fail, because doubt is the opposite of faith. It does not matter what you have been through, if you doubt that something you pray for will come to pass, then I can almost garauntee you that you are exactly right, it will not come to pass. And that is simply because of your attitude. The fact that we are engaging in prayer, and acknowledging God, is not all that pleases God. What moves the heart and hands of God is our faith.
The Bible says that faith is knowing what you cannot see. It is natural for us to only know something if it is first proven to us that the matter is true. But the truth is, in the human mind, knowing something is simply a matter of our own will. It is a matter of our faith. People use to know that the earth was flat. They use to know that the earth was the center of the universe. And even today many people say they know there is no God. But are any of these situations true? No, these people "know" these things, simply because they had real faith in these matters.
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, and therefore it is truth, because God is truth. And the Bible says that what God said, shall come to pass. You need no proof of this. All you need is faith. Knowing that this is the truth. Don't think it is, know it is.
Once you force yourself to know this, over time it becomes easier to have faith, as God helps you to increase your faith. The focus of our prayer life should be to grow in our faith, and to grow closer to God. We should make it an unbreakable habit everyday to ask God to increase our faith. Faith grows by reading and meditating on God's Word, which is why we should read it daily. But most of all, faith shows in prayer.
When we hurt or worry about something, most of us will ask God to help us through the situation. But how often do you truly know that He will in fact deliver you? Most of the time, we will pray and pray over and over, hoping that God will hear us and take away our pain. But then we continue to be depressed and mope around in self-pity because our pain has not yet been taken away. Jesus told us to expect difficult times in life however, because we will suffer just as He did, and our trials are for our own good, to strengthen and mold us. But God has also told us that we will never be abandoned, we will always be delivered in the end. But the problem here is that so many people expect God to just make things better for them, that they focus on the fact that God is suppose to deliver them, rather than praising God for who He is. So then if they continue to suffer for years and years, not learning what they should because they aren't praising Him, they become discouraged and lose faith. Hearing these words in the Bible and hoping that they are true is not enough. You have to know that this is the truth. If we really do know this, then we will praise God and find peace and joy even through the most difficult times, because we can know that what He said will come to pass. This is what it means to have faith.
If we do not have this real faith, and we continue to go around depressed with nothing more than meerly hoping that God will make things better for us, then most likely we will continue to suffer from our pain, and perhaps suffer even more, because our hearts are showing a lack of faith. They show doubt and selfishness, and so we continue to suffer until we learn.
Do not be decieved by a sudden change of events in life however. Satan will do everything in his power to decieve you. I've known people in the past who would be going through a very difficult time, and I'd be trying to explain this to them to help them, but they would fight with me. Eventually, through a sudden turn of events they would find happiness in someone or something here in this life, and they would claim that they know in their heart that they are where God wants them to be. But sadly, they most likely still have the most painful trials ahead of them, simply because of their stubborn and doubtful attitude. Satan will decieve us to believe that loving God is all about discovering and acknowledging what we think it is God wants for us in our lives. But this is a selfish attitude and is not supported by the Bible. God wants what is best for us of course, but we will not live that life by simply trying to find happyness and doing what it is we feel God is wanting us to do. The only way we will know what God wants for us is to let go of everything, especially our pride, and seriously put our trust in God.
Sometimes I will be praying for something, and weeks or even months will pass with no answer, and I will become discouraged. But I always have to remind myself to keep faith, because no matter how long it takes, God is truth, so what He has said will come to pass. Do not be discouraged by the length of your trials. Instead, praise God and discover His peace and joy through the storm, and He will show you what it is He wants you to learn, and you can already begin to feel better because you can know that God has a brighter future in store for you.
Do not misinterpret this verse however. It is not saying that we will always get whatever we pray for. God always answers our prayers, but if the prayer is not within God's will, not truthful, or not for the best of ourselves or others, the answer will simply be no. God wants us to know the truth and to learn from our troubles. So if we pray within God's will, which means praying the truth, which we find in the Bible, then we can know that it will come to pass. For example, if we pray for God to reveal the truth to us about a situation, or to increase our faith, or to show us what it is He wants us to learn, or to help us be more loving and forgiving, etc., then we can be certain that that prayer will be answered possitively. But if we ask for someone else to be hurt, to realize what they've done to us so that they will feel guilty, or for a lie to be covered up so that our friends and family will not find out about it, etc., those prayers will not be answered possitively because they are not within God's will, and it would be foolish to put our faith in such things.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord, it is so hard to know what we cannot see, especially in times when we may be unsure if what we pray for is sinful or not within your will. Please help us to grow in our faith each day and to know that what you have said will surely come to pass. Amen.
Today's Task
Today when you pray, if you are asking God to help you with something you are struggling with, be sure to pray in truth and within what the Bible has to say, rather than simply what we wish for. Ask God to help you increase your faith each day, and know in your heart that if what you pray for, truth, forgiveness, faith, etc., is what God has told us in His Word, then it will come to pass.
If you would like to recieve these devotionals as a daily e-mail, PM me your e-mail address and I'll add you to the mailing list. God Bless
Written By: Scott Morgan
Scripture verse taken from the New International Version
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." (Mark 11:24)
Today's Word
There is a big difference in faith and hope. When we hope, we are simply wishing that what we want will come to pass, but we do not know for sure that it will. Faith on the other hand, is knowing something. Real faith is definite and free of doubt. In fact, I've found through experience that doubtful people tend to encounter more situations that would cause doubt, because they are being tested. Our attitudes will shape us and our lives. If you choose to doubt because you are too anxious or vulnerable to let go of your pride and give everything to God in faith, then you can most certainly expect to just face more doubtful situations in the future. You can't have real faith and trust in God if you are a doubtful person.
I've known many people who say, "I hope so", or "I want to", or "I've been praying for it", but then they say, "but I doubt it". But when we doubt, we fail, because doubt is the opposite of faith. It does not matter what you have been through, if you doubt that something you pray for will come to pass, then I can almost garauntee you that you are exactly right, it will not come to pass. And that is simply because of your attitude. The fact that we are engaging in prayer, and acknowledging God, is not all that pleases God. What moves the heart and hands of God is our faith.
The Bible says that faith is knowing what you cannot see. It is natural for us to only know something if it is first proven to us that the matter is true. But the truth is, in the human mind, knowing something is simply a matter of our own will. It is a matter of our faith. People use to know that the earth was flat. They use to know that the earth was the center of the universe. And even today many people say they know there is no God. But are any of these situations true? No, these people "know" these things, simply because they had real faith in these matters.
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, and therefore it is truth, because God is truth. And the Bible says that what God said, shall come to pass. You need no proof of this. All you need is faith. Knowing that this is the truth. Don't think it is, know it is.
Once you force yourself to know this, over time it becomes easier to have faith, as God helps you to increase your faith. The focus of our prayer life should be to grow in our faith, and to grow closer to God. We should make it an unbreakable habit everyday to ask God to increase our faith. Faith grows by reading and meditating on God's Word, which is why we should read it daily. But most of all, faith shows in prayer.
When we hurt or worry about something, most of us will ask God to help us through the situation. But how often do you truly know that He will in fact deliver you? Most of the time, we will pray and pray over and over, hoping that God will hear us and take away our pain. But then we continue to be depressed and mope around in self-pity because our pain has not yet been taken away. Jesus told us to expect difficult times in life however, because we will suffer just as He did, and our trials are for our own good, to strengthen and mold us. But God has also told us that we will never be abandoned, we will always be delivered in the end. But the problem here is that so many people expect God to just make things better for them, that they focus on the fact that God is suppose to deliver them, rather than praising God for who He is. So then if they continue to suffer for years and years, not learning what they should because they aren't praising Him, they become discouraged and lose faith. Hearing these words in the Bible and hoping that they are true is not enough. You have to know that this is the truth. If we really do know this, then we will praise God and find peace and joy even through the most difficult times, because we can know that what He said will come to pass. This is what it means to have faith.
If we do not have this real faith, and we continue to go around depressed with nothing more than meerly hoping that God will make things better for us, then most likely we will continue to suffer from our pain, and perhaps suffer even more, because our hearts are showing a lack of faith. They show doubt and selfishness, and so we continue to suffer until we learn.
Do not be decieved by a sudden change of events in life however. Satan will do everything in his power to decieve you. I've known people in the past who would be going through a very difficult time, and I'd be trying to explain this to them to help them, but they would fight with me. Eventually, through a sudden turn of events they would find happiness in someone or something here in this life, and they would claim that they know in their heart that they are where God wants them to be. But sadly, they most likely still have the most painful trials ahead of them, simply because of their stubborn and doubtful attitude. Satan will decieve us to believe that loving God is all about discovering and acknowledging what we think it is God wants for us in our lives. But this is a selfish attitude and is not supported by the Bible. God wants what is best for us of course, but we will not live that life by simply trying to find happyness and doing what it is we feel God is wanting us to do. The only way we will know what God wants for us is to let go of everything, especially our pride, and seriously put our trust in God.
Sometimes I will be praying for something, and weeks or even months will pass with no answer, and I will become discouraged. But I always have to remind myself to keep faith, because no matter how long it takes, God is truth, so what He has said will come to pass. Do not be discouraged by the length of your trials. Instead, praise God and discover His peace and joy through the storm, and He will show you what it is He wants you to learn, and you can already begin to feel better because you can know that God has a brighter future in store for you.
Do not misinterpret this verse however. It is not saying that we will always get whatever we pray for. God always answers our prayers, but if the prayer is not within God's will, not truthful, or not for the best of ourselves or others, the answer will simply be no. God wants us to know the truth and to learn from our troubles. So if we pray within God's will, which means praying the truth, which we find in the Bible, then we can know that it will come to pass. For example, if we pray for God to reveal the truth to us about a situation, or to increase our faith, or to show us what it is He wants us to learn, or to help us be more loving and forgiving, etc., then we can be certain that that prayer will be answered possitively. But if we ask for someone else to be hurt, to realize what they've done to us so that they will feel guilty, or for a lie to be covered up so that our friends and family will not find out about it, etc., those prayers will not be answered possitively because they are not within God's will, and it would be foolish to put our faith in such things.
Today's Prayer
Dear Lord, it is so hard to know what we cannot see, especially in times when we may be unsure if what we pray for is sinful or not within your will. Please help us to grow in our faith each day and to know that what you have said will surely come to pass. Amen.
Today's Task
Today when you pray, if you are asking God to help you with something you are struggling with, be sure to pray in truth and within what the Bible has to say, rather than simply what we wish for. Ask God to help you increase your faith each day, and know in your heart that if what you pray for, truth, forgiveness, faith, etc., is what God has told us in His Word, then it will come to pass.
If you would like to recieve these devotionals as a daily e-mail, PM me your e-mail address and I'll add you to the mailing list. God Bless
Written By: Scott Morgan
Scripture verse taken from the New International Version