God has lovingly and mercifully placed in His Word promises for us, to be used for the furtherance of His kingdom and our faith. These promises, to be effective materially and spiritually, must first be possessed by faith. You can’t plead a promise you don’t believe is possible. Also you must believe the promise has been given to you for your use in a particular situation. The Holy Spirit will affirm to your spirit that this particular promise can be used in this circumstance.
Also the promise must be proven by obedience. Don’t pray for a promise to come to you, then forget about it and continue on your merry way. Pleading a promise takes tenacity. Stick with the pleading until the promise has been granted – either materially or by the Holy Spirit attesting to your spirit that the promise is on the way.
Finally all promises must be presented in prayer. God’s unfailing promises are given to stimulate prayer, not to supersede it. While everything good for us is promised in answer to believing prayer, nothing is promised apart from it. Prayer is the channel of blessing to the believer. All spiritual things are accomplished through prayer.
In another place in this blog I have coordinated verses on healing, on guidance, on combating worry, on fighting depression, etc. But I feel I must point out that just grabbing a verse and praying it won’t necessarily guarantee God will honor your prayer. For example, if you want to pray for a friend to be healed, go through the verses for healing and ask God what His will is for that person. When you pray with reverence and deference to God’s will, He will more than likely give you a verse that can be used for that particular person. If He doesn’t, you will have to wait for better timing, or research a different promise.
The fire of our prayers are best if fed with the fuel of a promise. The promises outlined in these pages are meant to be a help and a guide to you in order for you to get better acquainted with your Heavenly Father and His Word. They are not meant to replace the reading of and meditation of His Word. Not only does His Word affect your life, but also it will affect others through you, for you will then be able to counsel accurately those who come to you for advice. Walk in God’s counsel and prize His wisdom.
Oh, the joys of those who… delight in doing everything the Lord wants; day and night they think about His law. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season without fail. Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper. (Psalm 1:1-3)
Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And whatever else you do, get good judgment. If you prize wisdom, she will exalt you. Embrace her and she will honor you (Proverbs 4:7-8)
And now, O Lord God, do as You have promised (2 Samuel 7:25).
[While many of the promises can be claimed by those who love God and are called according to His purpose (an Absolute Promise), the fulfillment of others (considered a Conditional Promise) is dependent upon the conditions attached – those dependent for their fulfillment upon the carrying out of certain requirements are expressly stated in the Word.]
