FOLLOW THE RULES TO GET RESULTS (DAILY DIET E-BOOK SERIES -01 DAY-02)

 

Although we don't live under the Old Covenant, we can better understand the nature of God by studying the Old Testament. There we find that God promised His people more than spiritual blessings. He also promised they would prosper financially and materially. He promised He would take sickness away from them, and the number of their days He would fulfill (Exod. 23:25,26). In Psalm 105:37 we read that when the Israelites were delivered from Egypt, there was not a feeble one among them— although there were some two million people!

God is interested in everything that touches our lives, and He has made provision for us. He promised the Old Testament saints if they would keep His commandments, they would eat the good of the land. This implies we are to prosper materially. The New Testament essentially says the same thing: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 2). Jesus said He would give good gifts to His children because He is concerned about us. He is talking about the desires of our hearts, and He tells us how to get them. Let's go according to the rules! Follow the Rules To Get Results.

The Scripture that says, 'What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them" (Mark 11:24) is talking about the prayer of faith. This primarily is an individual situation. It pertains to your desires. It is you praying; not someone else praying with you. It's not someone else agreeing with you. When you pray, you believe that you receive. If you'll do that, you'll have "what things soever ye desire." You'll get results! I can make this work for myself, but I can't always make it work for you. Your will is involved.

One person's unbelief can nullify another person's prayer of faith. Baby Christians usually can be carried on a mature Christian's faith, but after a certain period of time God expects them to develop their own prayer life and their own faith. I've seen this demonstrated many times during my years in the field ministry. In those church meetings, I would teach mainly on faith and healing. Toward the end of the meetings, we would allow time for questions and answers.

One question asked repeatedly was: "Why is it when I first got saved, I got my healing every time I was prayed for, but now I don't ever get healed?" I would answer by saying that new Christians are like babies. No one is born a full-grown Christian. God wants us to grow and to mature. We feel pity for those who are physically deformed and who never have developed fully. We ought to have the same compassion for those who do not grow spiritually. When you were first saved, you were a baby. Naturally, the pastor could carry you on his faith. There were Christians praying for you who would carry you, and their faith would work for you. But after a while, God knew that you had had the opportunity to grow, whether you grew or not. He said, "It's time to put that big baby down and let him walk." We really had a cry baby on our hands then. A lot of people still would rather be carried.

                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                        To be continued!

FFT: Spiritual maturity is an inevitable ingredient to a sustained prevailing prayer life.

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