December 27: The Remaining Considerations
The sixth of the ten considerations from yesterday, when we talk about faith in God then, we are talking about His will, not our will. That’s how Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father, who is in Heaven, thy will be done.” Faith is based on God’s agenda, not human agenda. It’s not your ability to move mountains. It is God’s ability. It’s not your will to move mountains; it’s God’s will.
The seventh point is that, faith is based on the promises of God, not our hopes or desires. When you struggle with faith, you don’t doubt your ability; you doubt God’s ability. Sometimes we get upset that God hasn’t done something we think He should do, but God never promised to do it. It may have never been His will. God alters not His will, it’s only man who tries to put his will upon God and that is contrary to God’s will for man.
The eighth point is that, when you pray by faith then, you are praying that you trust God to do His will in your life, based not on your wishes or desires, but on what He has promised to do. There’re some things we can always have faith that God will do, because he has promised to do them, such as “love you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3), “work all things for good” (Romans 8:28), and “never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:8). We can’t always know or think that God will heal every sickness, for example, because He’s not promised that He will. In fact, He promised we would have trials, but that throughout it all we could rejoice in our sufferings.
The ninth consideration, God is trustworthy and worthy of our faith. I love how The Message Version puts 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!” Do what? His will. Faith in the person of God is based then on your trust that He is who He says He is and He will do what He says He will do. The tenth and final consideration is, when your faith lines up with God’s will, you can absolutely, positively, unquestionably claim by faith that God’s will be done. One of the reasons it is so important to know God personally is so that we will know His will, so we can know how to pray in God’s will (Romans 12:1-2). What would you add in understanding Biblical faith? Note: Faith in God must be based on the finished work of our savior, Jesus Christ, in Calvary.
Let’s pray: Lord, thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ. Help me to appropriate the faith You have given me. I want to be worthy of eternity with You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Today’s reading: Zechariah 1-4
Your Faith Makes You Pray in God's Will.