I can feel the season shifting. God has put a new desire in my heart. He has given me permission to go…to walk towards the vision that He has for me. But His vision is so big, it’s so great, that it’s almost unbelievable. And, I’m reminded that this is how it feels to be called by God. His vision will always be greater than us. His vision will always require us to look to Him for guidance and provision.
I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! (Psalms 121:1-2 NLT)
We look to the Lord for help because He is the only one that has the strength that we need.
We can’t reach promise on our own. We are not wise enough. We are not strong enough. We don’t have everything that we need. But, the good news is that He does. He has unlimited wisdom, unlimited strength, and unlimited provision. As long as we look to Him, and depend on Him, we will be empowered to do the unbelievable things that He has called us to do.
Then he said to me, “This is what the Lord says to Zerubbabel: It is not by force nor by strength, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. (Zechariah 4:6-7 NLT)
Our success is not in our hands, it is in His. The promise is not our responsibility; it is His.
But we still have a part to play.
We must agree with God, and declare His promise over our lives.
God is always speaking promise over us. His word tells us that He has good plans for us, plans to prosper us…plans for a future. But, we must agree with Him. We must take what He speaks, and receive it as our own. By doing this, we become participants in His plan. We must understand the amazing authority that He has given us as His children.
Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” (Genesis 1:28 NLT)
At times, it may feel like we are powerless, but we must remember that God has given us permission to reign and govern the earth. This means that we don’t have to back down from the challenges of this world…we don’t have to accept defeat and failure as our future. Instead, we can use the authority that He has given us to become who He’s called us to be. We can speak to mountains and command them to move. We can speak our future into existence…bringing the invisible into the physical realm. But we must believe that He has given us this authority to do these things, and we must believe that He will move on our behalf.
For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (Mark 11:23-24 NKJV)
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV)
Speaking in faith breathes life into the promises of God.
We can see evidence of this as we read about the earnest prayers of Elijah in 1 Kings 18.
Later on, in the third year of the drought, the Lord said to Elijah, “Go and present yourself to King Ahab. Tell him that I will soon send rain!” (1 Kings 18:1 NLT)
Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go get something to eat and drink, for I hear a mighty rainstorm coming!” So Ahab went to eat and drink. But Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel and bowed low to the ground and prayed with his face between his knees. Then he said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea.” The servant went and looked, then returned to Elijah and said, “I didn’t see anything.” Seven times Elijah told him to go and look. Finally the seventh time, his servant told him, “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea.” Then Elijah shouted, “Hurry to Ahab and tell him, ‘Climb into your chariot and go back home. If you don’t hurry, the rain will stop you!’” And soon the sky was black with clouds. A heavy wind brought a terrific rainstorm, and Ahab left quickly for Jezreel. (1 Kings 18:41-45 NLT)
God told Elijah that He would soon send rain, and then He instructed Elijah to prophesy that promise to the King. Why? Because the promises of God require our participation. In order for the rain to come, Elijah had to use the authority that God gave him…he had to speak it into existence. But that wasn’t all. Elijah knew that he needed to pray earnestly for the will of God to come to earth.
What does earnestly mean? It means to take something seriously; to do something with intensity or sincerity.
Elijah didn’t just say a measly prayer. Scripture says that he put his head between his knees, and he prayed over and over again, until he saw the evidence of his promise.
Our prayers bring heaven to earth.
Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10 NLT)
The promises of God have already been done in heaven. The healing is already done. The restoration is already done. The rebuilding is already done. We don’t pray so that God can do something new in our lives. We pray so that we can experience what He has already done. Jesus told us this much. And I believe that our understanding of this changes everything. Instead of pleading with God, we can go boldly before His throne, we can declare His promise over our lives, and we can pray earnestly…like Eliajh…until we see what we are believing for.
Today, I am making the decision to run towards every promise that God has for my life, and I pray that you would make that decision with me. If you are interested…if you want to live the life that He has for you…join me. Grab ahold of every promise that He’s spoken over you. Begin to prophesy those promises over your life. And pray earnestly…until you see everything you’re believing for. No matter what…don’t give up. No matter what…don’t give in. He will deliver the promise into your hands. Put your hope and faith in Him.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for the amazing promises that you have spoken over my life, and thank you for reminding me that every promise is already done in heaven. I have been reminded that I don’t have to beg for my promise, but I do need to take part in my promise. And today, I declare that I will participate with you, Father. I will prophesy everything that you have spoken over me. I will speak to mountains so that they move. I will pray earnestly. I will not give up. I will not give in. I trust you Father. In Jesus name, amen.
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