Article Display
Email  |  My Account  |  Donate
How many pairs of shoes do you have? When was the last time you looked at all those shoes, lifted up your hands, and just spent a few minutes thanking God for blessing you so much?

In our world today we have become more "Consumer Conscious," and less "Grateful Minded," and as a result have fallen prey to a place of spiritual ineffectiveness in our prayer lives.

Great power is released in prayer when we move into true heart level appreciation for the goodness that God has already shown to us.

Put In Perspective
On a ministry trip to Mexico, one year, one of the young men, in our group got some crude oil on his new tennis shoes he had just brought on the trip, and he got so angry! He started fuming and fussing and yelling, enough for everyone to hear it.

Then we entered a the little Mexican shrimping village and noticed that all the children were barefooted. We found out that none of them had ever owned a pair of shoes.

The front door to their house was a shower curtain, and the houses were all one room shacks. The young man with the oily shoes suddenly was grateful for what he had in the light of someone else's need.

Why, though, do we wait to experience someone else's lack, before we truly appreciate the tremendous goodness of God that we already have?

In Deuteronomy 28:47-48, we see a key reason for people living under the curse, and it is ungratefulness: "Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies...in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and in need of everything."

Are we thankful for the place we have to live in? Or the car we drive? Or the clothes we wear?

Most importantly, are we thankful for the promises that God has given us in His Word, that will set us free, meet our needs, and raise us up to be a testimony of His love and goodness?

There is a power release pattern in John 11, in the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. This is how the pattern goes:

Stay In God!
Jesus and His disciples were told that Lazarus was sick. The typical natural response would be to drop everything and rush there to help. Instead Jesus responded, "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified."

Jesus was declaring the will and purpose of God right from the beginning. When it was time to go to see Lazarus, there were all kinds of opinions on sickness, the timing, and even fears of the danger of getting to close to persecution.

Jesus was never moved by the circumstances, opinions or emotions of others, but He was only moved by the revealed Word of God.

Intercession
Jesus moved into a realm of breakthrough prayer that few, if any, understood at the time, but He could not be moved off of it, even if He was surrounded by unbelief. His weeping was mistaken for grief, even though it is clear in the scriptures that Jesus already knew the miraculous outcome of this event.

Jesus groaned in the spirit in intercession for the purposes of God to be fulfilled, building up power to be released into the situation and thereby creating the miracle.

Giving Thanks!
The last thing Jesus did before raising His friend from the dead, was to say "Father, I thank you that you have heard me." Nothing had changed outwardly.

There was no physical evidence that any miracle would occur, and yet, Jesus' prayer of thanks indicated that He had already received what was promised. At the point of thanksgiving, Jesus had sealed the fact of resurrection.

When do you thank someone for a gift, before you get it, or after you get it? After you get it, then you say thank you. If a good friend that you trust were to call you and tell you that they are sending you $100.00, you would thank them right then, because you believed their words.

There is breakthrough power in being grateful to God for what He has already given you, and thanking God for what He has promised to do.

Too many times we pray and believe God to do something, or give us something. Then when He does it, we do not spend very much time enjoying it and thanking Him for His goodness, but move right to the next faith project, to consume more blessings, because we are very good at being consumers.

We would release more power in prayer, if after we take hold of Gods promise to us, we would pray it through, and then take the time to enjoy the faith, enjoy the adventure of it, and appreciate Gods vast goodness towards us, then our joy would truly be full as we walk in perfect fellowship with Him.

Copyright © Citywave Church
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

Spencer Nordyke
Web site: Nordyke Ministries
 
Spencer grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and moved to Texas at the age of 17. He loves helping people meditate through the Word of God to so they can unlock God’s destiny for their lives. He has been playing guitar for years and loves to take people into the presence and glory of God.
Read more...

About Us

The online ministry of cfaith has been helping people discover faith, friends and freedom in the Word since 2000. Cfaith provides a unique and comprehensive collection of faith-building resources for the worldwide faith community.

At cfaith, you can strengthen your faith and deepen your understanding of the Word of God by digging into the vast collection of teaching articles, streaming audio and video messages, and daily devotionals. No other website offers such a unique and extensive collection of spiritual-growth resources aimed at helping you grow in your knowledge of the Word.

Read More...

 

 

Support Us

Why support cfaith?


(All contributions are 100% tax deductible)


SUPPORT CFAITH WITH ONE CLICK!

For every Internet search you make using
goodsearch, cfaith will receive one penny!

GS Logo 250x38

Contact Us

Business Hours:


Monday—Friday: 9 a.m.—5 p.m. CST
Saturday & Sunday: Closed

Phone:

(763) 488-7800 or (800) 748-8107

Mailing Address: 

CFAITH.com
9201 75th Avenue North
Brooklyn Park, MN 55428

 

Login Form

Please ignore the “Secret Key” field; it is not needed to log in to cfaith.

Login Change Article

Spring360x442
You need to enable user registration from User Manager/Options in the backend of Joomla before this module will activate.