God is always speaking but we aren’t always listening. Getting quiet and turning our heart, and our focus toward God positions us to hear His voice. God will place His desires in our heart. He will even...
“Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour,” (Matthew 8:13).
We have just entered into a new year. During this time many people establish goals and write down their vision for the year. As you do this I would like to encourage you to set some time aside with a notebook, some worshipful music, and your Bible and spend some time with Jesus. God has a beautiful plan for you this year and would like to share His thoughts with you.
God is always speaking but we aren’t always listening. Getting quiet and turning our heart, and our focus toward God positions us to hear His voice. God will place His desires in our heart. He will even show us glimpses of our future if we would only position ourselves to hear His voice (John 16:13). My wife and I along with other members of our church have decided to fast select food items for 21 days. This is our attempt to shift our lives toward the face of God. This is our realignment. We are only 5 days in and are experiencing God’s manifested presence in a powerful way. We are also receiving clear direction for the church and for our personal lives.
I often think to myself, “this is a very little sacrifice, if any at all, to be in a place where I can receive from God.” Fasting is a powerful thing. Fasting doesn’t move God. Fasting doesn’t make God loves us any more than He already does. God has already moved. He has already provided everything we need pertaining to life and godliness through faith in His son Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:3). Fasting and prayer simply aligns our hearts to hear God’s voice.
There is a rather interesting story found in Matthew Chapter 8 in regards to receiving from God. A centurion leader seeks after Jesus for help on behalf of his paralyzed servant. Jesus immediately agrees to go with him to heal his servant. The Centurion tells Jesus that he is not worthy to have Him under his roof so he asks Jesus to only speak a word and his servant would be healed (Matthew 8:8). The centurion was a man of faith. He believed Jesus had authority over the devil and his works. He knew that words spoken from a place of authority had the power to change lives. Jesus marveled at his faith!
This centurion’s faith pleased Jesus so much that he gave the man what he requested then and there (Matthew 8:13). Our receiving from God has everything to do with our faith in God. God is not withholding any good thing from us. He is our father and He loves us. Faith only comes one way. It comes by hearing God’s Word over and over and over again (Romans 10:17). I declare 2018 is going to be the best year yet for you as you position yourself to hear from God. The more you hear from God the more your faith will grow. The more your faith grows, the more your capacity to receive from God will grow. Ask, seek and knock and you will receive ( Matthew 7:7)!