Of course, no one carries that large of a vocabulary. In fact, the average person knows about 10,000 words, but uses only about 5,000 in everyday speech! - Robert Morris
Its interesting to note that God gave us two ears, two eyes, two nostrils, two hands, two legs, two feet, and only one mouth. I believe God was trying to send a message from the get go. Words to have a huge impact on daily living. Often times we pray in such purity and with such passion for our kids for example, then we go talk to sister super christian and we say I worry about little Sara or little Jimmy because they have to go to that awful school. We don't even realize that is watering down what we just prayed over them. Fear and a mouth can cause a person to live in turmoil most of their life. You see it all the time a person has fear that they are going to contract some sort of disease and they speak all their life that they don't want that exact disease. They then contract it and others around them wonder how that happened to that person. They prayed all their life that it wouldn't. Does this mean God doesn't hear our prayers? I don't think so as a matter of fact its a biblical fact that he does hear our prayers. Think about this scenario; a person who is a tremendous faithful worker for God, spends their entire life praying for something to NOT happen. Well think about the dynamic in which that individual has created. Most pray for things because they fear its gonna happen to them, most speak it as though they are destined to see it in their own life. So they begin to pray to head it off at the pass, if you will. What are they essentially doing? Well they are speaking things as though they were are they not? That's biblical to call things as they were not as though they were. Most of the things that happen in our life to ourselves we speak into existence. I know from seeing it with my own eyes that praying one specific thing not to happen can happen and often will happen. Say for instance you have a loved one that prays their entire life not to get cancer and yet they seem to always get it. Not in every instance, but in many. Why is that is God punishing them? Are they wrong for what they are praying? No to both, but prayer is about faith. If you don't implement faith in your prayers then often times you totally miss what could happen. Now for humanity that is often the toughest thing is praying by faith, most pray by fear. We as humans fear the unknown so there fore we pray as to the unknown. The bible says in Hebrews 11:1 "faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things unseen." Now we have misunderstood and misinterpreted that for years in the church. Many take that as believing in God whom we can't see. That is totally correct, but its not the whole story, in fact its just a little bit of it.
Look at this text and examine faith in the context of what we have been discussing today. Faith in prayer is praying for the unknown and unseen is it not? Well if in fact acting in faith is a substance of things hoped for then why in the world are we praying not to have this specific illness or thing happen? Well are we not telling God I have nothing wrong with me....BUT! Hold on a minute there it is, that big ole but! That is probably one of the most commonly used words in the English language and probably the most powerful. That one word in a prayer or common communication with anyone describes your faith in a nutshell. We all do this and that's why the world has got to where it is! Here are some examples.. Don't stop if any of these are you, because I am writing this and I do this too. Father thank you for my wonderful family, but don't let harm come to us. Father I love that person, but they are so frustrating. Father thank you for giving me health, but I am don't want this pain I am feeling to be something bad. Really? How about this one talking to you friend. Hey man I sure love our church, but that pastor is getting boring. Hey bro that was a great service, but the worship was not great today? Then the music consistently gets worse and the worship leaders hear about it and get mad and jealousy sets in. Then you have a good ole fashion religious mess, because now you have allowed for the religious to throw their two cents in and now you have a fight on your hands.
Also lets look at the second half of Hebrews 11:1 If its the evidence of things not seen. Hold on now evidence? Nothing is wrong with you, but you been praying as though there was. Then you keep feeling bad you go to the doctor and here is the evidence. You have been speaking it, you have been talking about it, you have been praying it. Then it shows up in your life and your surprised? Then everyone prays diligently for you and the healing doesn't take place. Well I have a theory, maybe you have placed something on yourself that isn't going to be undone necessarily. God can do everything and anything he wants, but remember he gives you the desires of your heart. From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. If all that is in your heart is fear of the unseen and the substance of the things hoped for. Well substance is something that is tangible something that is there. Something that has substance is something or someone who exist. Your prayers are a living breathing measure of your faith. If you are praying for someone to get healed and your asking as if your a kid begging for candy. Is that faith, I have a hard time believing that God wants a 33 year old man to jump up and down going please oh please oh please. We pray from our hearts we let out to God what is really in there, we also pray from our intellect in other words what you constantly speak or have spoken to you that you learn becomes your intellect and it comes out through your prayer.
Now let me say that in no way fashion or form am I saying that when people pray like this they are sinning or they are a bad person. That's not the case at all, I mean Peter walked on water for a moment and then fell into the water because his eyes wander due to his fear of the unknown. Jesus picked him up and they got back into the boat and later Peter preached a sermon and 3,000 people were saved. I am just saying we don't realize that ramifications of our words. We don't realize the fact that what we say and what we do has a profound impact on ourselves and others. Also let me say I am also not saying that just because you're sick or something bad happens to you that you have prayed it into existence. That is often not the case I am just saying that it does happen. Bad things are gonna happen and I will tell you the healing's and blessing's come most often to those who hadn't spoke it over their life. Its just often when you haven spoken it, God has given your the desires and intents of your heart. Its a very dangerous thing to speak death in any aspect of your life. Its very dangerous to constantly let fear dictate the words your pray or the things you do. Prayer is our communication with God, and if our prayer is negative how can we expect anything other than negative results. If your prayer is full of positive faith how could we expect anything, but the favor of God.
Finally, I have raised a lot of questions no doubt. I will also say this that the dilemma most of humanity faces is how do I learn to have that measure of faith. We live in a very cynical and negative society, every claims this or that and they turn further away from God. With that surrounding you it becomes very hard to keep that strength in your faith. I don't have a magical answer to an age old problem, I wish there was a+b=c formula to this. Unfortunately, there isn't its more about our determination to just make it happen. If those prayers have been your prayers, don't worry I am not saying your bound for hell or you have done something bad. You just fall into the majority, I myself have caught myself doing this as well. I have been working to make my prayers positive in faith when I pray for others or my families well being.
My problem is finishing that prayer and then talking to someone else and saying man I don't want, "Mia to be a teenager because of what they have to face." I mean really Shawn, that's pretty stinkin ignorant don't ya think? That's what I am saying its hard to do, but when we do it that's when God will begin to operate in powerful ways in our life. Thank God for his sovereignty because he doesn't immediately act on each time we pray or say things like that. I wasn't praying negative over my family, but I did speak it so I counteracted my prayers, but God knows we are humans and we do ignorant things more often than not. God's grace allows me to make mistakes like that an catch myself and oops God I did it again. He doesn't set there waiting for you to mess up. He knows your gonna, its a process of growth that we all have to go through. However, on the flip side, and as I have eluded to throughout this devotional today, if you don't work to get better and you get set in your ways (at any age this can happen, youngest to the oldest) that's when it has truly become a part of who you are and unless you totally surrender it to God, it becomes a part of your intellect thus becoming part of your spirit. That's when its starts to speak from the abundance of you heart, then the evidence begins to show if you will. Also, let me point out in this that being vulnerable in your prayer time isn't praying curses on your life. Being broken and coming to God in times of hurt and need isn't what this is about. I love the times when I am by myself that I can come broken to God and say this is happening to me and I don't know why? That isn't what I am referencing at all, this is all in the context of faithless prayer or speaking negative over those that you just prayed for blessing in their life. Words really do have power and that's the point of this devotional.
My prayer for you today is that God richly bless you and your family. I pray for tremendous favor for you in your workplace, friends, and family.
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