You know, it is not enough for us Christians, to just want a healing or anything else from God. God wants to see, that we demonstrate our faith somehow. One thing is to believe, but entirely other thing is to act on your faith.
When we read Matthew 8:6,7, we can see, that there is a questions, which Jesus asked the centurion. Now, did not Jesus know, that all that the centurion wanted, is for Jesus to heal his servant. Of course, he knew, because the centurion has already told him so. But despite the fact, that Jesus knew what is the problem with the servant of the centurion, and what that centurion wanted Jesus to do for him, he still asked the centurion that question 'Shall I come and heal him'? Was that question necessary? Well according to the centurion, probably not, but according to God, yes. You see, God wants us to not only believe his Word and his promises, but to also act on our faith. God wants us to confess our faith in him and his Word, just like the centurion did, by saying to Jesus, to just say the Word, and his servant would be healed, in verses 8, and 9. If Jesus did not ask the centurion that question, if he should go to the place of the centurion, and heal his servant, perhaps the centurion would not make those great statements of faith, before Jesus, which he made in verses 8, and 9. What the centurion said in the verses 8 and 9, was pure faith in what Jesus can do for him, pure faith and a confession of faith in the miraculous from God. That is why Jesus was amazed at his faith, and commented that the faith of the centurion is a great faith. God could ask us a question, to test our faith, before he gives us a miracle, in order to see our response, if it will be a response of a great faith, which will glorify God, and will bring the miraculous, or it would be a lack of faith, which will be like a handbrake for the miracle from heaven. And all that is left, is up to us, how we want to respond to the promises of God.
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Did you know, that you can be around Jesus and still miss the blessing? God has many blessings for us, but he never forces any of his blessing on us, and we can completely miss them, if we are full with doubt and unbelief.
In the Gospel of Mark 6:56, It says that many people were around Jesus and that some people, were touching his clothes. But you have to notice that, although many people were around Jesus, only those who came to him and touched his clothes, were healed. Why? Because they had the touch of faith. All the other people, who were around Jesus, but did not touch his clothes, were just spectators, who completely missed it. There were many people around Jesus, everyday, while he was on earth. Some believed the miracles he did, but others when they saw the miracles, tried to kill him. So, being around Jesus is not enough. You have to do something, some type of action, in order to manifest your faith in him. Touching his clothes with faith, will give you the miracles. They would not touch his clothes, if they did not believe, that he would heal them. The only reason they came to him and touched his clothes, was that they believed, they will be healed, like many other people they have seen before, coming to Jesus, touching his clothes and get healed. Did not Jesus want to heal all the people around him? Yes he does. But he also wants to see faith. That is why in Mark 6:5, 6 it says that Jesus was in one place, where he did not do many miracles, apart from healing a few people, because of their lack of faith. And he marvelled at their unbelief. Knowing about Jesus is not enough to produce a miracle in your life. You have to demonstrate your faith in him and his Word, by some action, by something you do. Your actions manifest and display an unbelief or faith, and so do your words. Jesus is more that happy to see those actions of faith. The power of God was there all the time in Jesus, to heal everyone, but those only standing around him, just like spectators, did not receive it. Only the ones who did something practically, like touching the robe of Jesus because of their faith in him, received his power, and were healed. Sometimes, we as Christians can be wondering, what should we pray for, or for who we shall pray for. But the Bible has shown us clearly, what and for who we shall pray.
If we look at 1 Timothy 2:1-3, we can see that Apostle Paul is giving us divine instructions, about who shall we pray for, and what shall we pray. Paul urges believers, to have petitions to God, and to pray for believers, that is for other Christians, and also, for people in authority. He also mentions intercessions and thanksgiving. Also, Paul says that we should pray for those things, first of all. Now that means we have to put those things on the top priority in our prayer, when we pray to God. Well, that includes some of the main things, for which a Christians should pray for. Let us look at each one of those instructions. Petitions and prayers, to be made for all people. Now, it does not say that we should pray for Christians only, but it says for all people. What does the word 'all' mean? Well, it means all, and that includes non believers and Christians. Petitions and prayers for them means we can pray what we want to pray for them, whatever the need they have is. We can pray for Christians that they will know God better, and come closer to God, and have strong faith in the Word of God, and we can pray other things about Christians. But it also says, that we should pray an intercession type of prayer, when we intercede for certain individuals before God, on their behalf. One example of intercession, is when we as Christians pray for another Christian, to be healed from a disease. We ask God to heal them, and in that sense we intercede for them, before God. And thanksgiving is also mentioned by Paul. Well, I would suggest that every time we pray a petition or intercession types of prayers, we should finish our prayers, with thanksgiving. Thanking God for answering our prayers, at the end of our prayers, shows God, and demonstrates to God, that we really believe, that he has answered our prayer. If we do not really believe, that God has answered our prayers, I do not think, that we will really thank him for the answer. If you do not believe that God is going to answer your prayer, then I do not think that you will thank him for the answer of your prayer. You thank God for the answer of your prayer, only if you believe that he has answered your prayer. Simple like that! And of course, we can give God thanks, not only for answering our prayer, but for million other things, like what God gives us in our life, either as a spiritual or material blessings, and for many other things. And another prayer is that one, for people in authority. Paul says that if we pray for people in authority, like praying for the government of our country, that would result in us, living a peaceful life. What more we need these days, with all those Covid 19 havoc creating days, than having a peaceful life. The whole world is messed up, so we really need a peaceful life. And that life is possible, we if pray for authorities. What shall we pray for the people in the government? Well, one think we could pray, is that God will grant them wisdom, in order to make good and proper decisions, for the glory of God, and for the blessing of the people of that country. We have hope, and we have faith, at the same time, but, they are not the same! They are different!
Faith, is everything to do with now. Faith receives now. Faith does not hope, and is not going to receive in the future. No! Faith receives now! Read Mark 11:22-24. But hope, does not receive now! If hope receives now, it would not be hope anymore, but it will be faith. Hope is what we are expecting to happen or receive in the future. When in the future? Well, whenever in the future. It does not matter! What matters is, that we wait to receive from God, in the future. Faith can not, and should not take the place of hope in our hearts, and hope, can not and should not take the place of faith in our hearts either. Each of them, has its own role and part to play, and each of them, is vital and important, otherwise, the Word of God would not say, that those three remain, faith, hope and love, in 1 Corinthians 13:13. We need often, to be patient and to wait, to receive from God, what we asked of him, in either our faith, or in our hope. With faith, once we ask from God for something, and then we thank him for the answer that he has gives us already, what we have asked of him, even if we do not see it yet, with our physical eyes. But we believe that he has already given us the answer of our prayer, in the spiritual realm. So, we need to exercise patience, until the answer of our prayer appears in the physical realm. But with hope, although we need to be patient for the answer of our prayers from God, we still hope for the future, that one day in the future, God will give us or do something for us, what we have asked of him, but that will happen in the future. We do not have the answer of our prayer now, as we do with faith, but we hope, that we will receive from God, sometime in the future. Read Romans 8:24, 25. That is the difference between faith and hope, and we need both, because each one, will fulfil its own purpose in our life, as God has determined. |
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