6 Reasons Why God May Not Answer Your Prayer

Prayer is one of the most misunderstood subjects in the Bible. It attracts different interpretations, definitions, as well as misconceptions from people.

Some believe prayer is an avenue to express sentiments towards God, some other people believe prayer must be impeccably arranged for it to receive answers, but that's not the case. Prayer is a means through which we communicate our thoughts, intentions, desires and express intimacies towards God – it is a two-way flow of communication between man (humanity) and his Maker (Divinity) (Exodus 33:17-19).

In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus gave a blunt and direct assurance that those who ask, seek and knock through prayer shall receive their requests. Prayer is the most effective platform we communicate with the prayer-answering God (Jeremiah 33:3, Psalm 50:15). But the probing question here is, "If this is true and these scriptural passages about God answering prayers swiftly (James 5:17-18, 1 Kings 18:24) are potent, why are some prayers not answered?"

Some set of people argue that the manner or way at which prayers are presented could determine its possibility to attract answer or rejection from God. At this stage, it is highly imperative for us to know that God still answers the prayers and desires of anyone who believes and calls upon Him for help, in the same frequency He answered scriptural personalities.

Hitherto, He still answers, even at higher velocity. He is the same every time! (Hebrews 13:8). But obviously, there are times God seems to be "silent" or "late" in granting answers to some prayer requests, especially our major expectation, requests or desires, while others receive instant answers. The question here is what could be responsible for this?

We seem to experience this sporadically in our walk with God. We often think God gives preference to some prayer requests than the other or deliberately ignores some prayers. In tandem with this rumination, we consequently begin to doubt God's acceptance of the prayer or rather hold the devil liable as he did in Daniel 10:12-13.

Whatever is our resolves, we need to be conscious of the fact that there are scripturally proven reasons why God may choose not to answer your prayer, and here are six (6) of the reasons.

(1) The Lack of Spiritual Capacity to Handle Such Answer

God is our heavenly Father and He always desires consistent intimacy with Him. He is of full apprehension of the answers our spiritual status can handle per time, so he wouldn't give us what out spirituality cannot handle.

God is merciful and jealous, He wouldn't give us if there is an assurance of you using the money for sinful acts or derailing from Him.

(2) When God Has Something Greater Than Our Request

Most times, we pray consistently on a request and see no instant result. It could be that God has something greater than our demands which He would release at an appointed time.

When God says "No", it is because a bigger "Yes" will follow. Our minds are not configured to conceive beforehand God's thoughts and plans for us (1 Corinthians 2:9). We only know they are good (Jeremiah 29:11). This oblivious state of our mind about His better plans makes us pray for lesser things.

We're intimately aware of the certitude that God will never do what is lesser or contrary to His plan or will for our lives. He never wants His people to settle for less but for bigger things. So, He refrains from giving our lesser requests and grants His bigger plan(s).

Therefore, whenever we experience delay in getting answers to some prayers, check this!

(3) In Order to Clear Testimonies’ Devourers

We're of full understanding that we live in a world of battles, contentions and victory. The world is not for funfair but warfare (1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 2:14). There are possessed individuals, powers and diabolic operations targeted at aborting answers to our prayers and breakthroughs (Psalm 74:20, Daniel 10:12-13, 1 Corinthians 16:9).

Many people who pray fail to acknowledge the existence of testimonies' devourers whose agenda is to prevent the delivery of released answers to prayers. But our God who sees all (2 Chronicles 16:9) would destroy the devourers and then in His time, will release the answers to His children’s prayers (Luke 20:42-43).

(4) Intention of Prayer

Many answers to prayer requests are delayed or truncated because of the motive for the requests (James 4:3, Jeremiah 17:10). Intention determines possession. Some prayers are born out of strife, jealousy and intention to intimidate, while some to satisfy selfish, fleshy and sinful desires.

Though we serve a prayer-answering God, but He'll not give what will not bring glory to His name and kingdom. Intention is the raw material for answered prayers. If God does not give you what you want, it is because it is not what you need.

(5) If The Answer Would Cause Danger

God so much cherish and value us that He wouldn't give us what would endanger our lives (Zechariah 2:8). He knows what we don't know, He sees the end from the beginning (Isaiah 55:9) and He knows what is good for us and would never release what is injurious to our precious lives and destinies.

In prayers, out of desperation many ask for what they think is "good" for them which truly are not by God's analysis and omniscience.

(6) Iniquity

God's eyes can’t behold sin and the sinners' requests, let alone answer them (Isaiah 59:1-2). Those who access His Throne, His Court and His Hill are those with pure hearts and hands. Iniquity makes one inaccessible to God (Habakkuk 1:13).

The praise and prayer of a sinful man is an abomination to God. The Lord's hands are able to save, and His ears are receptive to hear but iniquity hinders His intervention (2 Chronicles 7:14)

We should, however, note that when God seems "late" in granting our desires, it is because He wants to come big. God does not do mega things in a hurry. Major scriptural miracles were not done in a hurry.

To intervene swiftly to Lazarus' ill state and heal him would have been a small miracle but waiting to let him die and raise him from the dead was a mega miracle (John 11:1-45). To have miraculously increased the quantity of the wine at the wedding in Cana would have been a small miracle, but waiting till it got exhausted and turning water to wine was a bigger miracle (John 2:1-11).

Also, consider the approval of Jesus' death and the mega miracle of raising Him from the grave. I say again, when it seems that God is late, wait for Him, He is coming bigger than you can ever imagine!

Do you know any other reasons not mentioned why God may not answer one's prayer requests? Kindly share with us and help fellow believers avoid the pitfalls of having their prayers unanswered.

Thank you greatly for taking time to read and please do share with others!

*** Written by Clement Oladepo ***

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The End Of Your Rope

The apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:8, “For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.”

Paul was one of the greatest men of faith who ever lived and yet he had problems wherever he went. He said he was “in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I had been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils of false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness - besides the other things that come upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:23b-28).

These scriptures tell us that throughout his ministry Paul often reached the end of his rope. All he could do is hang on and trust God. Yet not once do we hear him complain about his hardships nor did he sink in the quicksand of self-pity.

Elijah, on the other hand, was one of the greatest prophets of all time and in 1 Kings 19, he has a major pity party. He had just won a major victory on Mt. Carmel and this stirred up the wrath of the wicked Queen Jezebel. “And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent messengers to Elijah, saying, ‘So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.’ And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life…” (1 Kings 1-3a).

Elijah had just seen the fire of God come down from heaven and consume a water-drenched sacrifice and here he is running away from a powerless threat from an evil queen. Verse 8 says, “So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.” Here God performs another miracle. Elijah eats one meal and it sustains him for forty days and still he runs away.

Verses 9 and 10, “And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the Word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” Why run when you’ve been empowered with the anointing of God? Here comes the pity party, “So he said, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant; torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.’”

He says the same thing in verse 14. It is interesting to note that when Elijah sank in the muck and mire of self-pity that his role as a prophet soon came to a close. God’s response to this pity party was he had Elijah anoint Jehu, who went on to put an end to the reign of Jezebel, and Elisha who replaced him as God’s prophet in the land. Not long after this a chariot of fire appeared and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven (2 Kings 2:11). Indeed, the worst thing a person can do when tests and trials come is to fall into the destructive trap of self-pity.

Jeremiah 15 records another major pity party. Verse 17 and 18 says, “I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand, for You have filled me with indignation. Why is my pain perpetual and my wound incurable, which refuses to be healed? Will you surely be to me like an unreliable stream, as waters that fail?”

Jeremiah did not have an easy life. He was one of Judah’s greatest prophets during its darkest days and because of his radical message of God’s judgment through the coming Babylon invasion he led a life of conflict.

Jeremiah faithfully proclaimed the divine condemnation of rebellious Judah for forty years and was rewarded with opposition, beatings, isolation, and imprisonment. His sympathy and sensitivity cause him to grieve over the rebelliousness and imminent doom of his nation. He often desires to resign from his prophetic office because of the harshness of his message and his reception, but he perseveres to Judah’s bitter end.

He is the weeping prophet (Jeremiah 9:1; 13:17) - lonely, rejected, and persecuted. More than once Jeremiah was at the end of his rope and his sufferings easily match those of the apostle Paul. Thankfully, the Lord had an answer for the self-pity the prophet felt in chapter 15.

"Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘If you return, then I will bring you back; You shall stand before Me; If you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be as My mouth. Let them return to you, but you must not return to them’” (Jeremiah 15:19). God gives the condition of what Jeremiah had to do if he was to receive help from the Lord. God said, “If you return…” When did Jeremiah leave? The moment he stopped talking by faith.

God also said to take out the precious from the vile. That which is precious to God is our faith (2 Peter 1:1) and that which is vile is unbelief. A special promise is given to all of us in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with each temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

Listen to how the Message Bible translates this special promise, “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; He’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; He’ll always be there to help you come through it.” If you will refuse to panic when the tests and trials come, if we stay connected to Jesus through the fire, then ultimately spiritual growth will come and your call will be fulfilled.

God wanted Jeremiah to return to what the prophet said in Jeremiah 15:16, “Your Words were found, and I ate them, and Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your Name, O Lord God of hosts.” The Word of God is powerful. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and will turn you into the type of person who believes that whatever you do will prosper and succeed, The Bible says you can do all things through Christ, the anointed One and His anointing, but first you must adjust your thinking to line up with the thoughts of God.

Romans 12:2a says, “And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” The way you think can either cause you to press forward in the midst of a trial or it can become a roadblock that prevents your advancement in life. Thomas Edison once performed ten thousand experiments in his quest to invent the light bulb and none produced the results he wanted. “I have not failed,” he said. “I have successfully found ten thousand ways that will not work.” When you think like that there is no way the enemy can stop you from accomplishing what you set out to do.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, “We are hard pressed on every side yet not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed.” A winner is not a person who has never suffered a setback. A winner is someone who knows that when the setback comes he or she must rise to the occasion and continue forward. The thoughts, words, and actions of a winner will always be in agreement with the Word of God. This, in turn, will determine whether you will be a success or failure because what happens “in” you is more important than what happens “to” you.

You can have the attitude that God is bigger than any obstacle you face or you can believe that He’s not. The former will allow you to release the power of God into your situation through faith whereas the latter will confine you to a life of fear and failure. This truth is illustrated in Numbers 13 which records the story of when Moses sent twelve people to spy out the Promised Land.

After being gone for several weeks the spies came back and told of seeing huge fortified cities there and strong giants dwelling in the land. Everything the spies said about the land was true, the difference being Joshua and Caleb came back with a good report while the remaining ten returned bearing a bad report.

Numbers 13:30-31 says, “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession for we are well able to overcome it.’ But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we are.’”

Goliath was bigger and stronger than David but that didn’t stop him from facing down and killing the giant. We need to understand that faith is not a denial of the circumstances. Joshua and Caleb saw the same giants as the other spies but they knew God had given them the land and refused to allow the circumstances to dictate to them how things were going to be. This is called faith and faith always has a good report. Caleb said they were well able to take the land.

To walk victoriously we need to feed on the Word of God continually and maintain a good report on the evil day when circumstantial giants block our path. Numbers 14:36-38 tells us that because the ten spies brought back a bad report they immediately died by the plague before the Lord whereas Joshua and Caleb were the only members of their evil generation who entered into the Promised Land. This reward was given to them because they believed God in spite of the circumstances and as a result brought back to the people a good report.

There is another story in the Bible where under grave circumstances a woman overlooked a tragic event in her life and won a major victory by confessing a good report. Her story is found in 2 Kings 4:8-37. One day Elisha traveled to the city of Shunem where he met a woman who constrained him to come into her home and eat some food. This happened regularly and this same woman persuaded her husband to build an upper bedroom onto their house so that the prophet of God could have a comfortable dwelling place whenever he traveled to that region.

During one of his visits, Elisha decided to bless the family for their kindness and upon hearing that the woman and her elderly husband had no children he foretold that in about a year’s time they would have and embrace a baby son. In time the child grew and one day he ran out into the field to be with his father and immediately complained of a pain in his head. The boy was taken to his mother where he sat on her lap and eventually died. Now was the moment of truth for this woman who so longed to be in the presence of the man of God. Would she have a pity party or run toward her giant like David did?

A person’s faith is most tested when all they have is taken away and oftentimes a person is required to use their faith when they are drained emotionally, mentally and physically. The young boy’s mother did this by not preparing her son for burial but instead went and laid him on the bed of the prophet. She immediately got ready to run to the man of God and when asked why she was going all she said was “It is well.” She made a good report in spite of the loss a mother is sure to feel at the death of one of her children.

For this mother there was no turning back and without delay she departed and went to Mt. Carmel to see the man of God. Elisha instructed his servant when he saw her approaching, “Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’ And she answered, ‘It is well.’” For the second time this woman gave a good report and confessed, “It is well.”

It is interesting to compare what this mother said to Elisha to what Martha said to Jesus at the death of her brother Lazarus. Jesus was not present when Lazarus passed away and the first thing Martha said was, “Lord, if You had been here my brother would not have died.” When Jesus responded that her brother would rise again Martha said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Martha had faith for the past and for the future whereas the dead boy’s mother displayed a “now” faith by twice saying “It is well.”

The timing of faith is vitally important to those who desire to live a victorious life that is pleasing to God. To walk by faith you must forget about yesterday and look beyond tomorrow in order to focus on today. Faith is a present tense reality and the first three words of Heb. 11:1 say, “Now faith is…”

When Moses asked God what His Name was He said, “I Am Who I Am.” Our God is a “now” God and so also is His faith which He gives to us when we confess and believe His Word. Knowing this is what compelled the young boy’s mother to confess “It is well” and as a result of her “now” faith the prophet went and ministered the miracle working power of God into the body of her lifeless son.

The lad was raised up and went on to live a rich full life and it all began when his mother gave a good report in the face of adversity. She did not panic nor did she sink in the muck and mire of self pity. No, she trusted God and spoke out that which she believed in her heart. She personified what Jesus said in Matthew 5:3-4 (Message), “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and His rule. You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.”

*** Written by Randall J. Brewer ***

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The Cross

Text: John 3:15-16; Isaiah 53; Romans 4:24-25; 1 Peter 3:18

In evil long I took delight,

Unawed by shame or fear,

Till a new object struck my sight,

And stopped my wild career.

I saw One hanging on a tree,

In agonies and blood;

He fixed His languid eyes on me,

As near His cross I stood.

Sure never till my latest breath,

 Shall I forget that look!

It seemed to charge me with His death,

Though not a word He spoke.

A second look He gave, which said,

 "I freely all forgive;

This blood is for thy ransom paid;

I die that thou mayest live."

Thus while His death my sin displays

 In all its blackest hue,

Such is the mystery of grace,

It seals my pardon too!

*** Written by John Newton ***

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Believing Is Seeing!

Text: Matthew 21:21-22; James 1:6

“If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you” (Matthew 17:20). Jesus was telling us that before we can see the supernatural happen we must first believe in the possibility of it.

When the Holy Spirit came with power upon the first generation of Christians, it was, at least in part, because they expected to see God’s power revealed. They had seen it before, and they would settle for nothing less. A mudpack in a blind man’s eyes is not supposed to return his sight, but it did! Five loaves and two small fishes are not enough to feed five thousand hungry people, but they were! Dead people do not come alive again, but they did!

All these things and more they had seen at the hands of the One who told them, “He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do” (John 14:12). They expected Christ to keep His word and He did.

Do we really believe this today? Do you believe it? Have your expectations of Jesus and His power been dimmed somehow? Have you filed them away in the dark, dusty corner of what used to be? Will you be satisfied with less than those who passed the message of Christ along to you?

What do you believe about God’s ability to transform lives today? These are questions each of us must answer. For I tell you that we experience no greater manifestation of His power than we are willing to believe, nay, expect. Whether we think Christ can and will, or cannot and will not, we will always be right. “…be it unto you according to your faith and believe.”

Our expectations become self-fulfilling prophecies. From the world’s perspective ‘seeing is believing’, but as Christians, you first have to ‘believe it to see it’ or rather, you can and will only see God’s power transforming your circumstances when you eventually bring yourself to believe in Him and His word.

Finally brethren, our expectations largely determine our future experience. However, “…it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy” (Romans 9:15-16).

*** By Robert Leslie Holmes | The Breath of Abundant Life ***

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Kenneth Hagin On “Faith Is An Act”

Text: James 2:14-26; Mark 9:20-26

Some years ago, a friend of mine told me about a woman evangelist who preached in the early days of the Pentecostal Movement. In one of her meetings, she ministered to four people in wheelchairs. To all four she said in a quiet voice, “Arise and walk in Jesus’ Name!”

And they all got up and walked – except the fourth one. “I can’t walk,” she said. “The others couldn't walk, either,” the evangelist pointed out, “but they did.” The woman replied, “I know they did, but I can’t walk. I haven’t walked in years. I can’t walk.” And the evangelist had to walk away and leave her sitting there, still in unbelief.

Results Are Forthcoming

You see, when those first three people began to act upon what was told them, results were forthcoming. When you act upon what God’s Word says, or act upon what the Holy Spirit may speak to your heart, results are forthcoming. That is faith!

Faith is an act

A woman in one of the churches I pastored had arthritis and was in a wheelchair. The doctor had told her some years before that her body eventually would become rigid and she wouldn't be able to move. She would become confined to a wheelchair, her body fixed in a sitting position. And it did come to pass; her body was stiff as a board.

She and her husband never missed a service. Now, I could pray for this woman and she would receive instant healing for such minor ailments as the flu or a cold. But it bothered me that she never once asked for prayer for healing from the arthritis.

There were people in that church who had been healed of very serious ailments, and I knew it was God’s will to heal her too. Some might argue, “Well, it may not be God’s will,” but I know it is God’s will to heal people! (That doesn't mean that Christians who don’t get healed aren't going to heaven. It just means they are robbed of a blessing while on this earth.)

One afternoon a small group of us from the church went to this crippled, woman’s house to pray with her determined to see her delivered from that wheelchair. As we prayed, I saw exactly what God wanted me to do.

I said to everyone, “Get back away from her.” We were in a large room. I went across the room from her and said, “Everybody watch, but I don’t want anyone to touch her. Stay away from her.” Then I pointed a finger at her and said, “Now, my Sister, arise and walk in the Name of Jesus Christ!”

My wife and I and the members of that prayer group are witnesses to the fact that the power of God lifted her up out of that chair. She sat suspended in mid-air above the wheelchair! She could move her arms and immediately she reached down with those little, crippled hands for the wheelchair. The moment she did, she fell back down into the chair.

As she did, without thinking – I know it was the Spirit of God in me – I pointed to her and said, “Sister, you don’t have an ounce of faith, do you? You don’t believe you’ll ever be healed of this arthritis, do you?” She blurted out, “No, Brother Hagin, I don’t. I’ll die and go to my grave with it.” And she did.

It’s Up To You To Obey

You cannot receive from God beyond actual faith. Do you know what would have happened if she had cooperated with God’s healing power? She would have been healed. Every joint in her body would have been loosened. She would have begun to walk!

Too many people think that God’s power – healing power, Holy Spirit power – is going to move on them and make them do something whether they want to do it or not. No! That wouldn't be the Holy Spirit; that would be an evil spirit. Evil spirits force, drive, and compel you to do things. But the Holy Spirit urges, prompts, or gives a gentle push. Then it is up to you to respond. It is up to you to obey.

While I was conducting a meeting in Texas, a woman in that town wrote a friend in another city, telling her how many were receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit in the services. She invited her friend down for the weekend services.

The friend drove down and was in two of our services before coming forward to receive the Holy Spirit. I laid my hands on her head, prayed and the Holy Spirit came upon her. The utterance came. But I couldn't get her to respond or receive.

Faith

In the next service, which was Sunday morning, she came again for prayer. Once again the Holy Spirit came upon her and gave her utterance, but again she did not yield and receive. I knew exactly what was wrong, but I knew it would take time to instruct her, and it was getting late. I turned the service over to the pastor.

Then I slipped through the side door and was walking across the parking lot toward the parsonage when I saw her sitting in her car. She looked disappointed as she sat there a moment before turning the ignition key to begin her journey home.

I asked the Lord to let me help her. Instantly the Spirit of God showed me how to quickly help her. I walked over to her car, opened my Bible to Acts 2:4, and as I handed it to her through the window, I asked her to read it aloud.

She read, “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” “Sister,” I asked, “who does the Scripture say did the speaking with tongues?” She replied, “It says the Holy Ghost did.”

I asked her to read it again. She read it again. I asked her the same question. She gave the same reply. So I repeated the question. Finally, on the fourth time around, she caught on that something must be wrong, so she began to read slowly, “And – they – were – all – filled – with – the – Holy – Ghost – and – began – to – speak…”

Looking astonished, she said, “Why, THEY did!” She took my Bible out of its case and examined it. She said she thought perhaps I had a different Bible from hers, but it was the same – a Scofield reference edition.

“You know,” she said, “I always thought the Holy Spirit did the speaking.” I told her I had known that. Then I said, “Let’s read several other Scriptures. God’s Word says that out of the mouth of two or three witnesses shall a thing be established.”

We read Acts 10:44-46: While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision, which believed, were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard THEM speak with tongues and magnify God….

“Oh,” she exclaimed, “I see it!”

“That’s two witnesses,” I said. “Let’s get three.” So we read Acts 19:6, “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and THEY spake with tongues, and prophesied.”

The woman said, “You know, Brother Hagin, if I had been called to testify in a court and the lawyer had asked me who did the speaking in tongues, I would have said the Holy Spirit did, and I would have thought I was telling the truth.”

I said, “I want to ask you something. When I laid my hands on you, did you sense the Holy Spirit? Did the power of God come upon you?”

“Absolutely,” she answered.

“Did your tongue want to say something that wasn't English?”

“Why,” she said, “it was all I could do to keep it from it.”

“You’re not supposed to keep it from it,” I told her.

“You’re supposed to cooperate. When the Holy Spirit gives you utterance, you must have faith to act.”

Immediately she began to speak in a most beautiful tongue.

Faith Is Acting On God’s Word

It’s time to quit hanging around and to start acting on the Word of God, because faith is acting.

Believe all things are possible

I was in one church where there was a man who had been severely burned over the lower part of his body. He couldn't walk; he just scooted along. In one of the services, the Holy Spirit told me to have everyone who had something wrong with them from their hips down to come into the healing line. This man was the first in line.

I waited until they were all in line before I told them what else God had said for me to tell them to do. I went up to this man and asked, “Can you run?”

It took him by surprise. “Oh, my God, no,” he said. “I can’t even walk, much less run.”

I said, “That’s what the Lord has told me to do – to tell you to run.”

The man didn't even give it a second thought. He turned and started scooting up the aisle as fast as he could. The third time he came around, the Spirit of the Lord came upon me and I jumped off that platform, grabbed the man by the hand, and ran around that building with him. When we got back to the front, he was walking normally; not scooting. He was perfectly healed.

However, if I hadn't been able to get him to cooperate and act on his faith, I couldn't have helped him. Faith, you see, is acting on God’s Word – doing whatever He says to do in His Word, or whatever He may say to us in the Spirit.

It’s one thing to believe. It’s another to believe and act on that belief!

*** Written by Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin | Hope Faith Prayer Ministry ***

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You Don't Need God?

Text: Ruth 1:1-5; Isaiah 40:31; Proverbs 16:9, 19:16

Key Verse: There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12)

The times were tough. Famine dawned on the land and the people had very little to survive on. They were perturbed by their present circumstance and saw no rays of hope in sight, but hardly could they forget that “they that know their God shall be strong and do exploits” (Daniel 11:32).

The people of Bethlehemjudah waited on the Lord for succor but among them was one so unfortunate who took not counsel from the Lord and felt he didn’t need God to tell him what to do with his life. He chose the path that pleased him only that it led to his death and destruction.

The story of Elimelech often reminds me of man’s weakness, naivety and folly to think we can live our lives without God (Proverbs 19:3a). We feel we own our lives and can do whatever pleases us forgetting that “many are the plans in a man’s heart but it is the will and counsel of the Lord that shall prevail.”

Elimelech and his family chose the way of pride by leaving the tabernacle of the Lord in Bethlehemjudah to seek refuge in a foreign land of Moab where its people neither revered nor obeyed the commandments of God. This teaches a lesson that no matter how awful our predicaments in life may be, forsaking the Lord and choosing our own path will always turn out to be a grave mistake.

Our resolve to stick with God should be on the basis of “for better or worse”, “in good times and bad times”, till thy kingdom come and His will done on earth as it is in heaven. We must put God first in everything we do, trusting Him with all of our hearts and leaning not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6).

If only had Elimelech sought the face of the Lord before making the move to Moab, his death and that of his two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, would have been averted. Naomi, his wife and mother of his sons, wouldn’t have turned out a helpless widow.

I believe God wants us to learn and understand that decisions made without His acknowledgement doesn’t end well. He wants us to have at the back of our minds that without Him we can do nothing on our own.

We shouldn’t be overwhelmed by the gains of pride and get to the point we feel we do not need God in our lives (Proverbs 16:18a). Elimelech thought he had escaped the burdens of famine and delighted is soul with the fleeting abundance of an ungodly city as Moab. Sadly, he never for once thought of going back to where he came from.

Folly is what makes a man think he can find happiness and fulfillment on his own terms without God. But hear the words of wisdom: “Man’s going are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way? The fear of the Lord tendeth to life: and he that hath it shall abide satisfied; he shall not be visited with evil (Proverbs 19:23; 20:24).”

When Naomi realized her mistakes with tears and sorrow in her heart (Ruth 1:19-22), she returned to the Lord and look what happened to her in the succeeding chapters of the book of Ruth. She found favour and grace from God. Even Ruth, her daughter in law wasn’t exempted from this favour because she decided to worship and service the living God of Israel (Ruth 1:14-18).

Haven’t you suffered enough to still think you do not need God in your life? Now is the acceptable time to return to the Lord. “Seek Him while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near…return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon you; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isaiah 55:6-7).

*** Written by Jacobs Adewale (Admin) ***

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