And without faith it is impossible to please him,
for whoever would draw near to God must
believe that he exists and that he
rewards those who seek him.
– Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
Our relationship with God is based on faith. When we come to Him, we need to be certain that the invisible God is real. Moreover, we must believe and trust that He is able to fulfill what He has promised in His Word. When we come to God on these terms, then He is pleased with us and we can find Him. Our faith is a bridge between us and the eternal God.
For me personally, it took time to realize that most of the time prayer is not always answered immediately – at least in the natural realm. Often, it is a great challenge to keep from pushing things along by our human efforts and instead, continue to press on in prayer.
Obviously we need to use our hands, gifts and talents in advancing God’s Kingdom, but we should not neglect fervent prayer. The battle, especially for men is to try to fix things as soon as we see a challenge or problem. However, God wants to take us into the place of prayer and humility before Him, because it is His Kingdom and He wants to be glorified.
God wants to teach us about faith and endurance. Let’s look at Abraham’s story. God promised Abram many descendants. The Lord wanted to teach Abram that Almighty God has the power to fulfill all He has promised (Genesis 17:1-3). Abram had to trust that God’s promises were real. Eventually, God gave him a son, and Abram learned this lesson well.
God wanted to teach Moses and Israel that He was all they needed (Exodus 3:14). Likewise, David the King had to discover that God is the Real King of Israel and that David was His servant. When David trusted God, God fought on behalf of David.
The Lord taught these men vital lessons of faith and endurance. We should learn from their lives, because we walk with the same God, Who is the same yesterday, today and forever.
This blog is a chapter of Andrey’s new book “Come With Me Into His Presence”.