Question… When you pray what is the level of your faith?  When you have a need, a desire, a pain what is your faith that backs it up.  Is it something that you give to God and then take it right back?  Do you really have faith that He will do what he says he will do?  Do you trust Him with EVERYTHING!!!???  No matter the cost??  Do you believe and understand God’s very character? The word says that Faithfulness is His very character.  (Psalm 89:8)  When you pray, sacrifice and fast do you eagerly await his response?  Are you impatient?  When His timing doesn’t match up with our timing do you throw in the towel?  When God doesn’t answer the way you thought He should do you get discouraged?

God is faithful!!  All the time.  Those who wait patiently will receive what He has promised.(Heb 10: 36)

Ask Abraham (Heb 6:15).  God…always does just what He says…(1 Cor 1:9)  What kind of faith do you have?  Are you willing and open to allow God to test your faith?  Are you willing to put all your complete trust in Him?  Are you willing to let go and let God?

Let’s look at what Faith is… “Faith is the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen.  It is the evidence of things we cannot YET see.  God gave his approval to people in days of old because of their faith….It is impossible to please God without faith (Heb 11:1-2,6).  The word says Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord, NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS.  Remember the great reward it brings you.”(Heb 10:35)

He is our heavenly father and He knows how to answer our prayers!!  ALL OF THEM!!  We may not always understand His ways but we must never stop believing and trusting in Him.  He does whatever is necessary to catch our attention and to draw us closer to Him.

You may ask how I can be so sure of these things.  I’ve had the opportunity for my faith to be tested time and time again. I’ve had the reassurance and the peace of God flood over me when I have trusted and sought hard after Him.  There have been many prayers that I have prayed that were not answered in the way I had it figured out and in the time that I had planned out.  In it He has taught me patience. I’ve learned first hand what it means in Romans 5 :3-5 about rejoicing in problems and trials because they are good for us.  They help us to learn to endure; endurance develops strength of character and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.  This expectation will not disappoint us.

I’ve been bold enough to pray the prayers I want to hunger and thirst more after you God.  Show me your glory Lord as Moses asked you.  Not knowing in a million years what that would bring.  God showed me that true hunger and thirst is painful.  It’s not, “Oh I’m thirsty let me get a drink” “Oh I’m hungry, let me get a snack”.  He has shown me how faithful He is over the years.  He has given me this statement early this year …”It’s not the lack of your faith that got you into it but the strength of your faith that will get you out of it.”

I lost my stepfather completely unexpectedly a few weeks ago.  There’s no reason except it was God’s timing.  But God has been so good, so faithful and so comforting.  I’ve never experienced such peace.  The peace you can only receive through him. The peace that passes all understanding.  But He is so faithful that he has prepared me for it before hand.  I call them His little Kisses.    He loves us so much that He takes care of everything.  He answered many prayers, One for thirst and hunger, showing me His glory, and others I cannot reveal at this time.  This was in no way the way I had thought or had planned but He chose from the beginning of time.  I will leave this part with this thought:

“Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;                                                                                                   all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.”(Psalm 139:16 The Message Translation)

Part 2 coming soon.