I took a much-needed break and took some time away. As I started my break I asked God for the usual protection on the journey as well as for peace and joy. I felt at that moment God said, protection I will provide but my peace and joy are already available to you. You just need to claim them. True to His form, this was tested, as for one I got stung by a bee. But at that moment I chose not to fuss, I recognized that God was still in control. I chose to claim peace and joy even in the midst of pain.
In my quiet time after, the Holy Spirit revealed to me that they were many other blessings available to us that we do not claim. At first, I did not understand. In my limited mind, I felt as though it was crazy to have blessings lying around and not to claim them. However, He gently reminded me that there was one key component missing from my prayer equation. Of course, I needed further revelation, so here goes.
We pray and ask God for a solution or a blessing hoping that He will answer. Sometimes, we treat Him as though He is a genie. We wave around our prayer wand, magically wishing that our prayers would be answered. We sometimes beg and plead, throw tantrums, bargain, and even give ultimatums. Behaving as though we are the ones who created Him and He answers to us.
But then the revelation came, the missing part of my equation. How many of us actually believe when we pray? It took some serious introspection. Because, why would I ask God for something and not believe that He would provide it, but still claim I am waiting on Him? Sounds crazy right? But we do it every single day. We pray, then take back control, implement plan B, phone a friend, worry constantly, or sometimes believe that He will do for others but just not for us. These are just some of the ways we show God that we don’t believe what He says.
The Bible tells us that when we pray, prayer believing that we will receive (Mark 11:24; Matthew 21:22). Yes, we pray, but do we do it in faith? Do we really believe that God will come through for us?
God pointed out to me that many of us utter prayers. We then sit and hope for a response but we do not actually believe that God will come through for us. It was a hard pill to swallow and even more shameful to admit. But the reality is, if we don’t believe that God can and will do it for us, then we too will have many unclaimed blessings. We will not be able to experience the abundant life God has in store for us (John 10:10).
So my re-couragement for you today. The blessings are already available to you. God made sure of that when He sent His son to die on the cross over 2000 years ago. Don’t leave the blessings unclaimed. Ask for forgiveness and when you pray, have faith believing that God will come through for you. Sometimes we may find ourselves in the same position as the father in Mark 9. We may have to admit “Lord I believe but help my unbelief”. Don’t be ashamed to admit it but at the same time, have faith in God, believe Him, and watch and see how abundantly He will bless you. Click Here
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