Don't Give Up!

Don't give up on God in the waiting time between your prayer (Mark 11:22-24) and the manifestation of what you are seeking from God.  The manifestation is not always instantaneous.  In fact, most times it is not.  For instance, if you pray for finances according to Mark 11, you should believe that you have received the finances NOW.  I did not say that you received the MANIFESTATION of what you asked for now.  You can check your pockets now and see that the finances have not manifested.  Instead, you should believe IN YOUR HEART that you received the answer now (which according to 2 Corinthians 1:20, the answer is ALWAYS “yes” in Christ).  In other words, you are confident that God has heard you and has granted your request.  Mark 11 states that once you believe like this, God will surely manifest the object of your desire SOMETIME IN THE FUTURE (at the right time): “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be [future tense] yours.”  Mark 11:24.

It is in this waiting time that a lot of people give up on God.  They don’t see an instant manifestation so they quit believing that they received that for which they asked.  But James 1 makes clear that such a person who believes and then doubts the truth of God’s Word shouldn’t expect anything from God.  Whether it be symptoms of an illness that linger or lack of finances, you must not let what you see in the natural persuade you that God is not true to His Word.  To do so is to forfeit what God has for you.  Jonah puts it this way, “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.”  Jonah 2:8 (King James Version).  The New King James Version of the Bible replaces the word “lying vanities” with “worthless idols.”  

Either way, paying attention to what you feel or see in the natural is observing a “lying vanity” or “worthless idol.”  You are exalting what you feel or see above God’s Word to you, and, by implication, attacking God's integrity.  The natural is temporary.  God’s Word is eternal.  It has the power to change the present facts of your situation, but ONLY if you will hold on and keep believing!  Don’t give up on God.  We inherit the promises of God through faith AND patience (Hebrews 6 & 10).  He has not forgotten you.  He is working out a good plan on your behalf.  Blessings friends!