What Holds You Back

We can go directly to the Lord with whatever troubles us because if we are believers He is always there to listen to us and answer us.  Why do we hesitate and put off taking our concerns to the Lord?  

Let me ask you a question: do you really believe that God cares and that He is there for you?  Sometimes it seems like people have a lot of head knowledge but not much heart knowledge.  It is one thing to hear about how much God loves you and cares for you but it is another thing to really believe it is true.  This is like everything else in the Word of God, all of us must receive and believe God’s Word to be true; in other words we need to accept them by faith because this is the way God’s people need to live.

In at least four different books, the Bible relates or says this, “The righteous shall live by faith.”  You can find it in Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38, plus many other places in the Word relate to these verses.  Faith is something that is hard for many in the body of Christ to really get a grasp on.  

Think about this, how many times have you prayed and really believed you would get the answer just the way you prayed for it to happen?  Many times we pray, but without an ounce of faith, and praying like that we can expect nothing.  Many times we pray but when we don‘t receive the answers the way we want, then we have a tendency to give up.  I believe God always answers prayer but He sees the big picture and we don’t.

Many of our prayers are selfish prayers, full of I wants, followed by I don’t just want them, but I want them now, we want instant gratification.  God never said He would provide our wants, but He did say He would provide our needs, although at times he does give us the desires of our hearts.  When the Lord talked about providing our needs, He said we should be doing what it says in Matthew 6:33, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.”  God knows our needs, and wants to provide our needs, but He also wants our fellowship, and not just when we want or need something, but he wants us to spend time with Him worshiping, praising and thanking Him for who He is, what He is, what He has done and also for what He is going to do and accomplish in our life.  

I heard a man say the other day that God has never done anything for him, just the fact that he is alive and breathing and a believer shows that God has done much, much more for him than he is giving God credit for.  How quickly we can forget, but the other day that all changed.  What he wanted to take place for over two months happened, his prayer was answered, praise the Lord.  This situation involved more than just him and I hope he always remembers this answer to prayer.  

Did you ever stop and think that if God answers your prayers the way you want, another person’s prayers may not be answered the way they want, or maybe neither of you are praying what God wants.  There may be a hundred or more people praying for the same person, or the same thing you are, but they are not all in agreement or praying for the same outcome; more than likely someone is not going to get their prayer answered the way they wanted it to be done.  Aren’t you glad you are not God having to make all these decisions?

Faith as well as God’s will have a lot to do with our prayers being answered and giving up is not an option.  So continue to pray with faith, seeking the will of God to be done and let God do the rest.  If you don’t receive the answer the way you want Him to, He has a good reason and knows what is best for you, but don’t let your doubts or concerns hold you back, keep faithfully praying.  May the Lord bless you and may you have a super day!!