How many times have you been “beaten up” with this scripture?  When it’s quoted, it’s often quoted in the negative, indicating hoarding, the fear of giving or, the love of money.

Take a look at that scripture in context though and you will see that what Jesus was doing was protecting our interest.  Jesus was saying to think like God … taking care of those less fortunate than you but then get ready because you have access to ALL that He has in heaven:

“Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupt.” Luke 12: 42

When our desires become His desires and our will, His will, there is no need to hoard out of fear of not having enough … there will never been a winter too harsh and never a famine too severe that could stop us drawing from Heaven’s resources.

We’ll also have more than enough to give to others out of our abundance.

So I’ve chosen to no longer be “beaten up” by this scripture.  I’ve taken it in context that when I seek FIRST God’s Kingdom, everything I need IS available to me and will be provided … in abundance.  Basically, I know that when my heart’s desire matches God’s desire for me, my treasure is waiting, not merely to bless me, but to bless others also.

Blessings,

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7

Have you ever been a position of not knowing what to ask God for?  You want or need some guidance from the Holy Spirit but you’re not even sure whether what you’re asking for is God’s will?

I’ve been in this situation on too many occasions but I found that this can be the most confusing time of anyones life and, it also causes what I call double minded prayers.

The first thing to remember is that the Bible tells us to “let the peace of God rule in your hearts,” Colossians 3:15.  Peace is something you seriously cannot purchase, no matter how much money you have.  You can purchase the thing that will bring peace such as pay for the new roof to prevent damage to the interior of your home, but when it comes to making a decision on which direction to take or, what to do, no amount of money can guarantee you’ve made the right decision until you see the result of your decision.

However, by abiding in the Word, you will know what to ask for because the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth and the path that leads to truth is not only a path where wisdom abounds, but, it’s a peaceful one – Proverbs 3:17.

You Can’t Force God’s Hand

When it comes to answers to prayer, you can’t force God’s hand.

If we are asking “what we will,” and we’re abiding in His Word, then we can assume that what we ask for must be in accordance with the Father’s will for our lives too.  Jesus himself said “I do always those things that please him (the Father),” John 8:2.  Worthless though our attempts would be, this actually means that there is no need to try and force God’s hand.

I have personally seen so many criticisms against the “faith movement,” that I’m beginning to challenge the lives of their critics.  I’m certainly not into the “name it, claim it, blab it and grab it group,” but faith isn’t a movement, it’s a way of living. God said that “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (emphasis mine).

Before you even get to the place of faith, you have to believe that God is.

What does this mean?  I could blind you with words like omnipotent and omniscient but basically, God is ALL knowing and ALL seeing and ALL Mighty. It means that nothing is too difficult for Him to do and in fact, everything that God is ever going to do for you has already been accomplished.

I hear people saying “but I prayed so hard, I cried, I stormed the heavens and I got nothing and so I don’t believe in this faith thing.”  Well, I want to help you out here and suggest you stop.  Stop the crying, storming and trying to move God’s hands with your prayers … He just won’t be manipulated.

My little girl said it best when she said “mummy, if you’re believing God for this, then why are you crying.”

You know why I was crying?  Because I didn’t believe!  Oh yes, I believed the Word of God, I believed God answered prayer but I was in fear and didn’t really believe that what I’d ask for, God could do it for me!

Believing the Word and acting on the Word, are two different things.

You see, if I had believed, I would have spoken with confidence (acting) – a confidence that can only come from God.  I wouldn’t be crying and storming and pleading with God because I would have had that knowing that whatsoever things I desire when I prayed, believing that I receive them, I would have them.

How could I be so sure I would receive them and what’s the difference between what I’m saying here and the proponents of the “faith movement?”

It comes down to one word, apart from faith … “Abiding.”

Abiding means to “live in.”

Therefore, if I’m “living in” the Word and the Word is living in me, I will build faith since faith comes by hearing and, hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17.

When the Word lives in me, I will also have wisdom to know what to do.  I will also have peace and I will also know that God is, all of which will eliminate any doubt.

My response to my little girl telling me that if I had faith, I wouldn’t be crying was to spend more time in the Word.  Seriously, I put aside all work and fed on the Word until I got the faith to believe.  This put an end to the crying, vein popping praying and the storming of heaven and gave me a peace that passed all understanding.

The bonus?  The more time I spent meditating the Word, the more I got to know about God as my Father and the fact that He just “is” – self existent, God of Faith, God of Love.  My knowing God, eliminated the shadows of doubt as I discovered His heart and the fact that He wanted more for me than I was even willing to ask myself.

So the next time you need an answer to prayer and you realise you’re lacking in faith, do more abiding and in that abiding, you will find love, joy, health and peace.  It really is the Father’s will for you to have it all.

Blessings,

Do you remember that song:

“Don’t build your house on the sandy land
Don’t build it too near the shore
Oh it might be kind of nice
But you’ll have to do it twice
And you’ll have to build your house once more
You better build your house upon the rock
And put a sure foundation on the solid spot
And though the storms may come and go
Peace of God you’ll know.”

If that’s too modern for you … think about the song : “The wise man built his house upon a rock … ”

Way back when, when I sang the above songs as a child and teenager, I used to wonder why people would build their houses on the sand when I couldn’t even get my sandcastle to stay standing up.  A few years ago, I decided to go do some research to find out what Jesus was referring to when He talked about people building their house on the sand.

At the time of my research, I found some images but, have been unable to find them this time around but apparently what was referred to in that passage in  Matthew’s gospel (7:24-26) was sandstone.  Sandstone forms to look like hard, though often flat, rock and you could dig deep to get what might appear to be a perfect foundation – rock solid.  However, over time, (and we’re talking years) rain softens the stone, without notice and then one day, the foundation will collapse and the house will literally fall flat.  And, because the house collapses from the foundation, you can imagine the magnitude of the damage as the house falls flat and hence the reason Jesus says “and great will be the fall.”

Notice my point above, that it could take years for the rain to penetrate the sandstone foundation but that the fall of the house is sudden – no warning, no subsidence, just BAM!

I would suggest that most born-again believers would wager with anyone that they’re building their lives, business, homes on the solid rock of Christ, but, I think we only have to look at the state of the Body of Christ and ask, “are we really.”

How many of us are driven by religious activities rather than the grace of God – we think that by “doing” things, we earn God’s blessing and love.

How many of us think the louder we shout when we pray, the more likely our prayers are going to be heard.

How many of us are “waiting” for our healing instead of confessing the truth that by the stripes of Jesus we were (past tense) healed and then receive it by faith.

How many of us are “waiting” for God to move His hand without really understanding that the redemptive work of Salvation was already done through Christ therefore, by faith, we appropriate what God has already done through His grace.

Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it ~ Psalm 127:1

Disagree with me if wish, but I think there is far too much activity right now in the Body of Christ without any corresponding manifestation, and the world is waiting to see the glory of God.

I think it’s time for us to revisit our foundation so that whatever we build – our home, our business, our lives, we are building them on Christ the solid rock and not a replica of the real thing.

Until next time,

Photo By Travis Bell

You see, I’m s stickler for using the correct terminology – especially when quoting scripture – because one word can and does make a big difference.  However, I’ve heard people quoting “it’s the anointing that breaks the yoke” so many times that I had settled for it.

The original text from Isaiah 10:27 says …

And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing

When something in broken, it can usually be fixed.  When you destroy something, there’s no hope of putting it back together again.

In fact, the dictionary definition of destroy is “To unbuild; to pull or tear down; to separate virulently into its constituent parts; to break up the structure and organic existence of; to demolish.”

This is actually good news because you can be assured that when the anointing destroys, you don’t have to sit around wondering whether “it” (the yoke) will develop again.  Just like the fig tree in the second chapter of Luke, you can know for sure that it’s destroyed from the root with no chance of life, even at the molecular level, by which that yoke can raise it’s ugly head again.

Photo by Feuillu

Today, I attended my daughter’s cross country “house” event at her School along with some of the other parents who turned up to encourage their children.

Though the event lasted for only about 20 minutes, the buzz and excitement from both parents and children never peaked.  As the head of Physical Education gave the children their final instructions, my little girl looked at me and I demonstrated to her on the spot that she wasn’t to sprint but to pace herself.  The whistle blew and I was proud that she heeded mummy’s final advice … she didn’t sprint.

The course, which I understand from the Head of 6th Form is even too much for the 13 and 14 year olds is at least the size of 4 football pitches and includes rough terrain and a hill that some of the kids slid down as they tried to ascend it, due to the fact that it had rained earlier during the day.

Us mums (and one dad) stayed at the finishing line waiting for the children to approach the final bend and it was truly fantastic … as the first child appeared around the bend for the first lap of the race, all the parents started clapping, cheering and bellowing “come on Max,” and this wasn’t even their child!  We did the same for every child for whom we knew their name and oh, you should have seen their little faces.

My inspiration came from the final lap of the race though …

… Max, clearly ahead of the pack sailed home for first place as the parents cheered him on and congratulated him for such a great performance.  But we didn’t stop there, once a child appeared in our eyesight from around the last bend, we would clap, shout their names and encourage them on their final few hundred yards. We laughed as we watched some children get their second wind and speed up to an almighty sprint, overtaking the child in front of them and “pipping them at the post.”  The arms and legs did the hard work, but for some, their faces showed the 110% effort they were putting into that last sprint to reach the finishing flags.

Our cheers and applauds as parents were as loud and energetic for the last child as they were for the first and it was clear from the chatter among the parents that it was less about winning the race, it was about finishing!

It seemed as though we’d all given our children the same pep talk …

“even if you have to walk the course and you come last, you finish the race!”

At the end of his life, Paul said, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” 2 Timothy 4:7 (NIV)

Paul didn’t say it was an easy race and I sure know the children today didn’t think so, but the joy on their faces as they crossed that finishing line will remain with me for a very long time.

If you’re at the point of feeling as though you could give up, find yourself some cheerleaders.  Get around people who will encourage, support and applaud you as you take those final though painful strides towards the finishing line of whatever part of the journey you are on.  But do remember, in your race, you are the only participant and the race isn’t about winning, it’s about finishing.  And, you’re also not alone… you have Jesus beside you, the Holy Spirit in and around you and God the Father along with all the angels cheering you.

With that kind of support, I know you can make it!

Blessings,

“Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ … 

When the pressure is on and we’re going through trials, the enemy takes advantage by making us fearful.

The good news is, we have the power to knock that fear dead! First of all we have the Name of Jesus, that Name which is above every other name, and we’ve been given authority to use His name, not merely to cast out demons but to claim the victory, every time.

The enemy is only full of suggestions, in other words, “talk.” what he whispers in your ear, only has power if you ponder and believe it. If like Jesus when He told Satan “it is written” (Matthew 4:4), we fought back with words of truth, as in The Word of God, Satan would never get a foothold let alone a stronghold in your life.

Victory Through The Blood

As well as the Name of Jesus, we also have the blood of Jesus. Why do you think Satan offered to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world if he bowed down to him?  It was because Satan knew that if Jesus accomplished His mission by going to the cross and shedding His blood, Satan himself would be finished.

The usurper had already deceived Adam and so why not try and get the Son of God to break too.

Remember, so many of the men God had sent before Jesus had messed up their assignment before Christ was sent, but this time, Satan didn’t know who he was bargaining with.  Though Jesus must have been tempted since scripture tells us He was driven into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil and Hebrews 4:15 says that He was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

Satan had no idea how passionate this Man Jesus, whom God had sent to deliver the whole world, was about His assignment, even unto death.

If Jeaus had caved in to Satan as Adam did, there would be no cross, no shedding of His blood and therefore no redemption, eternal life and no victory.  Satan’s attempt was to get Jesus to take the easy route … “bow down to me and then you won’t have to endure the cross and the shame … I’ll just give you back the kingdoms I stole from Adam.”  Shame on Him … liar!  And note at which point he attacked … when Jesus was at His weakest, probably tired, weak and hungry after a 4o day fast.

But Jesus wasn’t about to give in, He would rather endure the cross and the shame than do any deals with this usurper.  Any of you still thinking that God stuck a deal with Satan to test Job, think again but another lesson for another day!

Jesus died so that you could win every battle but Satan comes along and whispers “yes Jesus died, and you know He’s a miracle worker but can He work a miracle for you?”  You see, Satan is so subtle, he doesn’t tell the born again believer God can’t do it since if you know God’s Word well enough you would know this was an out and out lie. Instead, he comes up with reasons as to why God won’t do it for you. He makes you think you’re a “special case” and if you’re not careful, you could be at the door of victory and he’ll trip you up so you don’t get near that door.

So what do you do when Satan comes to you with his subtle lies and deceit?

Here’s what you do:

1. Plead the Blood of Jesus over the situation – remind yourself and Satan that Jesus’ blood wasn’t shed in vein and you already have the victory through the Blood

2. Declare “it is written” and quash the lie of the enemy with the Word of truth – yes, come up with one of God’s promises and hurl it at him!

3. Praise God that in the name of Jesus you have the victory through Chris and declare that “he ALWAYS causes me to triumph.”

Do these three things and I’m telling you Satan won’t be able to stand the heat, he’ll be more comfortable in hell.

Remember he won’t give up easily and he’ll come back a few times but this is how to resist the devil as the bible speaks about in James 4:7, and at the same time, you’ll build your faith and get stronger in the process. Soon, you won’t even be able to hear the lying devil you’ll be so focused on the Word of truth.

So remember your formula for triumph and victory over every situation is The Blood, The Truth And The Praise.

You know what this means? You can give the enemy his marching orders knowing that whatever he tries, he cannot stop the purposes of God in your life.

The ONLY person who can stop the purposes of God being fulfilled through you, is you!

Seriously, the sooner we get this as born again believers, the sooner we can get on with the task God has given us to do and quit listening to what other people have to say about us or, try to do to us.

God knows the plans He has for us and they are even more solid that the earth itself.  Were we not foreordained before the world began?  (1Peter 1:20).  Did God not know our names before we were in our mother’s womb? (Jeremiah 1:5)

So why then should we give over our birthright to the enemy and leave him to take control of our purpose and destiny!

God didn’t wait until you were born and then decide what your purpose or destiny would be …

… He planned it out way before He even spoke the earth into being.

This means that no matter where you are in your life right now, your focus isn’t to look for a purpose but to seek God for “the” purpose. There is a big difference.  Some people will suggest that you can do what you want to do and create your own purpose.  Yes you can, if you want to try and accomplish life in your own flesh.  But I say, why sweat and tire yourself building a new path when God has built a perfect one for you.

It’s true that you will come across giants on the path to your destiny, but God thought of everything!

He even fought your battles before you arrived at the war zone!  Read the book of Joshua to discover how God fought the battle for the children of Israel.  Even when Achan sinned during the battle of Ai and Joshua lost about thirty six men and, that battle, God revealed the sin to Joshua, destroyed Achan, his family and all that they possessed and then carried on where He left off, fighting their battles and giving the enemy into their hands, EVERY TIME!

When God is in charge, you can declare you’ve already won before you even enter the battlefield.  Your job is to keep your eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, keep speaking what God’s Word says and not what your circumstances dictate, and use the the greatest weapon you have at your disposal against the enemy – the blood of Jesus – and you can declare victory EVERY TIME!

If you’ve been seeking God then it’s likely that things have changed for the better and whilst you may feel as though you’re not where you want to be, you can at least feel a sense of growth, knowing that you’re not where you used to be.

My husband and I noticed this about our prayer life recently. A few years back when we were desperate for a breakthrough in our finances, we used to pray together almost every day, morning or evening, and our prayer centred mainly around what we wanted from God. In fact, I was so desperate at times that when it was my turn to pray, I used to just cry or moan to God about how I felt He’d abandoned me.

When we pray together now, often we forget to “ask” or petition God but we know a big part of that is due to a development of our faith … we just know that we know that we know that what we’ve asked for, God will do. Why? We’ve seen God do it so many times before.

When we do ask, it often goes something like this …

“thank you God that you supply all of our needs according to your riches in glory by Christ Jesus and so Father, we thank you that (and we state what we want our particular situation to look like). From Philippians 4:19.

We are learning that we only need to petition God once and then in faith, we can thank Him for taking care of the need we brought to Him and therefore, having made our requests known, we can now thank Him that it is done. Philippians 4:6.

If you’re not at this point in your prayer life or faith yet, now is not the time to let the enemy condemn you. He’s a liar anyway and wouldn’t know truth if it slapped him in the face.

Start building your relationship with God by just having conversations with Him during the day and ensure that every day, you read your Bible even if it’s only 1 verse of scripture … your desire for the Word will grow from this small discipline I assure you.

I know some hard-line Christians who would tell me this is heresy and I should encourage people to get up at 6:00am and spend one hour with God but, prayer is first and foremost about Fellowship and as my closest friend, if you have to force yourself to come see me at 6:00am each morning with little to say except what you think I want to hear, our relationship is going to be very shallow. This is no different to what will happen in our relationship with God.

I have a friend in the US and when we became friends in 2003, I would have spent 24/7 with her on the phone if you let me. I just loved speaking and praying her and we are still friends today.

But one day I told God as I was driving, “God, you see how whenever anything happens, I’m eager to get on the telephone with Kristine and tell her everything, this is how I want my relationship to be with you. I told God I wanted to converse with Him all day … tell Him things that were on my mind and you know what, if anything happens now, God is almost always the first person I speak to – good or bad.

God heard that simple prayer that came from my heart that day back in 2004 and today in 2010, I can honestly say that I find speaking with God much more natural than it ever has been in my 30 year Christian walk. My relationship with God is growing through a natural desire to spend time with Him and, because I take off the mask when I get into His presence. That’s what I love about Him so much, He loves me for me!

So, whatever works for you, try it, but be persistent about fellowshipping with God.

God Bless,

Anyway, whilst I think I’m quite good at teaching her a lot of things about God and the Bible, I struggled with this one.

There is no doubt in her mind that God answers prayers and I remember when she was just 3 years old, I was worrying about something and she asked me what was wrong.  I told her and she said “mummy, let’s pray … you say it and I’ll repeat after you.”  Shocked out of my skin, I prayed and she repeated after me and, as soon as I’d done and said “amen,” she said (and you have to put on the American accent for this one because she was accustomed to watching Creflo Dollar – or “the preacher man” as she called him – on TV) … “now mummy, leave it to God.”

I’m telling you, if the prayer hadn’t moved me out of worry mode, her resolute intention to pray and then instruction to “leave it to God,” was enough to drive out all fear!

Anyway, as I pulled up into the car park of the swimming pool a few Wednesdays back for her swimming lesson, she got all excited, neck stuck out and eyes wide open as she said “mummy, I heard God speak to me today … I was in the playground and I wanted to play with one of the new bouncy balls.  I sat on the bench praying to God that someone would let me play with one of the new balls and with that a boy from my class bounced the ball over towards me and said “there you go Elodie.”  And then I heard God say “there you go Elodie.”"

It may only have been over a ball but I cannot explain what a premium moment that was for me.  She was so excited and awed at the same time that God should sound so ordinary and, it got me out of a fix of trying to explain to her what happens when God speaks.  She now knows it’s that small inner voice, the one that we can often ignore if we’re not tuned in to hearing from God because like my daughter, we’re waiting for the big booming voice.

At only 8 years old, my little girl was intentional about hearing God speak.  It’s something she had talked about for about two years and on that Wednesday, she experienced it for herself.

I believe God to us, His children.  However, I also believe it’s easy for us to tune out and either not hear or dismiss the voice of the Holy Spirit.

If you’re born again but have never heard God speak or, you’re needing Him to speak to you about something right now, be like my little girl … be resolute in your intentions.  Get quiet, get in the Word, fellowship with Him and above all, don’t force it!  God wants to speak so you can hear more than you want to hear from Him, but often our minds are just too cluttered with daily chores, issues from the past, the bills, just getting an answer to prayer, etc, etc, to hear from Him.

Start spending time fellowshipping with God and notice how you’ll hear Him speak when you least expect it.  God really is that good!

** Note: When we say “God speaks” it’s really the Holy Spirit speaking but this is another study for another time.  It’s that important but it will take much more than this blog post to explain it.  I will cover it in the next edition of The Influential Woman Newsletter and so if you want to read about it, sign up here.

Until next time,

I however recognise that it’s not necessarily an element of teaching that some Christians are comfortable with and some even refer to anything faith based as a movement… the “faith movement.”

The Bible tells us however, that “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”  Hebrews 11:6

The word “rewarder” in that verse of scripture is translated from the Greek word“Misthapodotes” which means, “one who pays wages.”

Now, I don’t know about you but if I work for an employer, at the end of the week or month, whatever the period of time agreed upon, I expect to get paid.  They promised and so now I’ve fulfilled my part of the bargain, I would be shocked if they didn’t pay me at the end of the month but would think nothing of it when paid as agreed.  In other words, on payday, I’m expecting nothing less than to be paid what my employer promised.

God expects us to approach Him in a similar manner … ask, believing that we’ll receive it and, the Bible says, “we shall have it.”  (Paraphrased from Matthew 21:22)

Don’t let anyone kid you that faith is any kind of “movement.”  Faith, is a way of living, it’s a lifestyle.  If you’re not living by faith, you’re living by your five senses and this, the Bible tells us is to be carnal minded which ultimately leads to death (spiritually which can also lead to physical death).

Abraham lived by faith and it was accounted to him for righteousness.  Galatians 3:6.

Unless we disbelieve God’s Word, we are assured that a little amount of faith, even the size of a grain of mustard seed, can move mountains.

But let me explain where I believe a lack of faith prevents many Christians from having their prayers answered …

We don’t build faith, we just expect it to be there when we call on it!

If you want the kind of faith that is going to see people healed of cancer, build up your faith to see people healed of the common cold first.  If you want to believe God for a house, start believing God for the bills to be paid and, if you already have the bills covered, start believing God for the “over and above,” or the extras so you can at least start saving.

As a young Christian, it was drummed into my head so much that I had to read my Bible to show I was a good Christian that I totally missed the foundational truth that the Word seed grows and makes us look more like Jesus.  However, about 7 years ago now, I saw the truth whilst reading my Bible one day …

Keeping the Word on Your Lips and In Front of Your Eyes

I was reading Deuteronomy where God gave the children of Israel the commandments and warns them to focus on Him so that a) their life would be prolonged (Deuteronomy 6:2) and b) that it will be well with them and that they increase in the land that He had promised them (Deuteronomy 6:3).   God told them to teach those things to their children and to talk about them whenever the opportunity arose and, to bind them for a sign upon their hand, and so they become like forehead bands between their eyes.

When I saw this back then, I got that “ah ah” moment that the reason God was telling the children of Israel to keep His Word on their lips and in their hearts wasn’t so they could prove to Him that they were good but, as a constant reminder of who they were, what they were and what they could do when they were prepared to totally trust in God and His Word.

The children of Israel could use God’s Word as a counter attack to anything the enemy had to say to them because if the devil came knocking on their door to tell them they were poor, they could respond by saying (in faith and without wavering) “no, I’m rich.”  So likewise, when the devil says “you can’t go to work today because you’re sick,” you need to have the kind of faith God was trying to instil in the children of Israel and respond with (in faith and without wavering), “no Satan, I’m well and I’m going to work.”

Please notice how I added twice “in faith and without wavering.” This is because when faith gets a hold of you, it’s not a head thing, but a heart thing … you just know that you know that you know that you know.

Trusting God For Healing

A few years back, my nephew’s little brother had the top of his finger chopped off when his younger brother shut his finger in the door.  By the time the doctors stitched the finger back on, they were sceptical that the finger could be saved.  All the time they were in the hospital, I was at home praying and just believing that Tamar’s finger would be fine.

Weeks went by and during a visit to the doctor, they told his mother that the finger wouldn’t heal and, over the summer, it would fall off. Well, forgive my scepticism, but I rejected the doctor’s report.  I declared that in the name of Jesus, he would not lose that finger.  I kept praying and believing and told God that if he lost his finger, it had to be down to my faith since I KNOW my God heals.

Months later, I visited my nephew on his birthday and asked where his little brother was since I wanted to pray with him.  He said “oh, he’s fine now, the doctors said it’s not going to fall off any more.”

I’m telling you, I wanted to shout “hallelujah” right in the middle of the street, but after speaking with his mother, I gave my nephew his present, went to my car and just started praising God.

From the first time I prayed, there was no other option in my mind but for that finger to be restored.

When I approached God and asked for Him to restore little Tamar’s finger, I wasn’t begging God.  I wasn’t using emotion to get God’s attention … I was merely standing on His word and just being resolute that there was no alternative … Tamar’s finger had to be restored.

Sometimes our problem is literally that we ask too many questions instead of just believing.  Our minds are cluttered with the “what ifs” and we all remember a story of ‘so and so’who prayed and didn’t get the answer.  I did this when we almost lost our home and God told me to stop looking at ‘so and so’ and look to Him.

Let me encourage you by suggesting the next time you get down to pray, ask yourself before you even pray “do I believe that God will answer this prayer.”  If you don’t believe, then I highly suggest you go and find some appropriate scriptures and build up your faith before you approach Him and then use those scriptures to make your case before God.  God loves it when we remind Him of His word and, it isn’t for His sake, it’s for ours.

I will be expanding on this in my next newsletter and so if you haven’t signed up yet, do so by clicking the link to the newsletter here.

God bless,