Fear Or Faith? That Is the Question.
Why we do not pray.
There are two main reasons we do not pray to God. The first reason being fear. We fear we are not good enough to talk to God. He seems to distant and all-powerful to talk to. Often times we fear what others will think if they hear us or see us pray (fear of acceptance). Maybe you did something in your past and you are afraid that God won't hear you, you fear you are not good enough or deserving; after all God is so busy why would he have time for little ole you? Maybe you are not sure you really want the answer, and you fear you will get the answer to your prayer?
What is fear?
verb \ˈfir\: to be afraid of (something or someone): to expect or worry about (something bad or unpleasant): to be afraid and worried
What is faith?
Faith (defined by God's Word, the Bible) "faith is the assurance (the confirmation, [a]the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]." Heb. 11:1 AMP
Let's look at what the bible says about Fear.
Maybe you have prayed and prayed, but you have not received the answer you wanted for your prayer? You feel defeated, and don't know what to do. Maybe you are sick and it doesn't seem to have an end. Maybe your relationship with your boyfriend or girlfriend is failing. Maybe you cannot seem to get ahead in school.
According to God's Word, we must have faith, not fear. Fear is of the devil and meant to harm you, it is of death and the curse (Deut 28, Deut 30:19). However, we have a better promise through Christ Jesus who came so that we might choose to have life and be blessed in that life (John 10:10). It is our choice to choose LIFE over death. The devil will have you believe that it is out of your control, but I am here to tell you that it is YOUR CHOICE! CHOOSE LIFE!
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How do we choose faith?
God's Word never fails. Spiritually speaking you must choose faith over fear. (James 4:7). Jesus whipped the devil over 2000 years ago. He is a defeated liar set out to deceive you. Put him in His place and choose to submit yourself to God. This is faith in action. Everything we do in life is through faith or fear (simply put, the lack of faith).
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Think about this quote, "The devil cannot prevail in your life apart from fear any more than God can prevail in your life apart from faith." Kenneth Copeland.
Compare it to Hebrews 11:1, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for...." The opposite of this is "Fear is the substance of things not hoped for..." What does this mean for you and me? We can choose faith.
We can choose the path to the promises of God, His blessings through faith, just as we can choose the path to not receive those promises, His blessings, through fear. I choose faith. How about you?
Resist the devil. Repent of fear, take authority over it (meditate and study the scriptures in this message until they are firmly set in your heart and you believe them), allow the power of God to move you forward in His will (His Word) in your life. We call this "walking by faith, not by sight". God told us to 'FEAR NOT" more than 60 times in the bible. Choose to "fear not"!
There are two main reasons we do not pray to God. The first reason being fear. We fear we are not good enough to talk to God. He seems to distant and all-powerful to talk to. Often times we fear what others will think if they hear us or see us pray (fear of acceptance). Maybe you did something in your past and you are afraid that God won't hear you, you fear you are not good enough or deserving; after all God is so busy why would he have time for little ole you? Maybe you are not sure you really want the answer, and you fear you will get the answer to your prayer?
What is fear?
1fear
(http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fear)
verb \ˈfir\: to be afraid of (something or someone): to expect or worry about (something bad or unpleasant): to be afraid and worriedWhat is faith?
Let's look at what the bible says about Fear.
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 2 Tim. 1:7 NKJV
"And the Lord said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them." Deut 31:16 NKJV
"For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” Rom 8:15
"Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”[a] 6 So we may boldly say:“The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” Heb 13:5-6 NKJV
And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” ! Pet 3:13-14 NKJV
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According to God's Word, we must have faith, not fear. Fear is of the devil and meant to harm you, it is of death and the curse (Deut 28, Deut 30:19). However, we have a better promise through Christ Jesus who came so that we might choose to have life and be blessed in that life (John 10:10). It is our choice to choose LIFE over death. The devil will have you believe that it is out of your control, but I am here to tell you that it is YOUR CHOICE! CHOOSE LIFE!
God's Word never fails. Spiritually speaking you must choose faith over fear. (James 4:7). Jesus whipped the devil over 2000 years ago. He is a defeated liar set out to deceive you. Put him in His place and choose to submit yourself to God. This is faith in action. Everything we do in life is through faith or fear (simply put, the lack of faith).
Think about this quote, "The devil cannot prevail in your life apart from fear any more than God can prevail in your life apart from faith." Kenneth Copeland.
Compare it to Hebrews 11:1, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for...." The opposite of this is "Fear is the substance of things not hoped for..." What does this mean for you and me? We can choose faith.
We can choose the path to the promises of God, His blessings through faith, just as we can choose the path to not receive those promises, His blessings, through fear. I choose faith. How about you?
Resist the devil. Repent of fear, take authority over it (meditate and study the scriptures in this message until they are firmly set in your heart and you believe them), allow the power of God to move you forward in His will (His Word) in your life. We call this "walking by faith, not by sight". God told us to 'FEAR NOT" more than 60 times in the bible. Choose to "fear not"!
II Peter 1:3-4 tells us: [God’s] divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
What does this mean for your prayer life? (Did you think I forgot about our topic - prayer?)
It means that when we pray we pray with boldness. We pray knowing God wants us to have faith. We pray knowing that His Word is true and we will receive the answers to our prayers according to His Word. We pray knowing that the enemy is a defeated liar and we can choose to believe God.
Tomorrow...The second and final reason we do not pray to God.
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