Praying in Faith (Part 2)
Prayer . . . avails much (James 5:16)
As we battle spiritual forces, it is important to distinguish between the burden of the Lord and the weight of unbelief. We must take inventory of our emotions as we pray. Is a spirit of fear, anxiety, or hopelessness present? Do we feel “under the circumstance” that we are praying about? Are we consistently begging for God’s help? If so, the heaviness we are feeling is probably not about the circumstance we are facing, but from our own beliefs about God and life. These emotions are not going to go away just by praying longer, fasting, or praying harder. We also cannot pretend these emotions are not there. We need to confront them and rebuke spirits of unbelief, fear, and hopelessness.
We can start this by repenting of wrong core beliefs that hinder confidence in the power of our prayers. Then we must turn our eyes to God’s faithfulness and worship Jesus until we get a revelation of His goodness and love toward us.
The battle is first in us and then in our circumstances.
Declare: Fear and doubt are my main enemies. I am not a victim to these emotions. I replace the lies fueling them with the promises of God. I trust in the goodness of God.
Checklist to Ignite Faith: ___ BR ___ RD ___ DD ___OD ___ NF
Worrying is so easy to do, and I often don’t even realize I’m doing it. Giving it all to God isn’t always easy but I know it will enable me to trust God more. “Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you;“ There is no reason to doubt God’s faithfulness in helping us except for wrong ideas we have in our minds.
This is definitely something I need to work on, identifying my own fears and worries especially as a parent. I need to just trust in God and know fear and worry do not come from God.
What is in my head is definitely a battle. I tend to prefer avoiding my “negative” emotions but not facing those will hold me back from the promises of God.
I found it interesting that these emotions will not got away by praying longer and harder but that I need to face them head on. This is something I definitely need to search my heart on.
You have been faithful and good to me all my life, Lord. I will not let fear, doubt, and anxiety control my relationship with you, God, or my life.