We have been taking our time in the Parable of the Sower, especially in our study of the shallow heart stage. We will go through this stage of growth repeatedly in our spiritual journey as different circumstances arise.
God does not cause challenging events. Rather, He uses them as opportunities to manifest His goodness in new ways which will deepen our trust in Him!
In the beginning of this phase, our hearts are ready and open to hear from God, as we ask Him to reveal His will (His perspective) of whatever we are facing at the time.
When new challenges emerge, God will reveal His perspective in various ways. It could be through us reading scriptures concerning our need and writing down any verses that come to life on the inside of us. God might also choose to speak to us as we listen to the teaching of His Word, through dreams and visions, hearing words of wisdom from others, etc.
When we personally hear from God and welcome His words, a seed of persuasion called faith is planted in our hearts. It is a GLIMPSE into what God sees and desires for our future!
We’ll know when the seed of faith has been planted, as we will feel joy and peace in our hearts! Unfortunately, however, doubt and mental reasoning will soon begin to attack our vulnerable seed. Our job is to protect our seed by providing the conditions for further growth .
After a seed of faith is planted, God begins working to bring us into full persuasion of His specific will. As we focus on meditating the revelation and verses concerning our situation, He will use His words to build us up until we are free from lingering doubts.
By the end of the shallow heart phase, God’s rhema words have created a strong root system in the spiritual womb of our heart.
Our mind has become renewed and is at rest before God. It is in agreement with the words He has sown in our heart. It has submitted to the reality of the great I AM and knows that HE is God in our situation. It is finally fighting with us and not against us!
Now that our soul and spirit are in agreement, we are ready to ASK for God’s revealed will to be accomplished. One of the definitions of the word “ask” is “petition.” It is a court term where we present a formal request to the court for something we desire to be done on our behalf.
It is a prepared statement. We have done the legwork of finding out our legal rights and have knowledge about what we are presenting to the court.
Spiritually speaking, this is called a Prayer of Petition. Our Father is the Judge over all the earth, and He says we are to confidently bring our case before Him. We are asking Him to fulfill HIS will in our situation.
Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in to help in time of need.”
We will struggle to find boldness if we are unsure of God’s willingness to help us. Understanding God’s perspective and partnering WITH HIM through prayer is the goal of every maturing believer. “Faith begins where the will of God is known!” (F.F. Bosworth)
In other words, we cannot have faith for something until we know God desires to grant it to us! Check out these verses below revealing the divine privilege of coming into agreement with God’s will in prayer.
“This is the remarkable degree of confidence, which we as believers are entitled to have before Him: that if we ASK anything according to His will, consistent with His plan and purpose, He hears us. And if we know for a fact, as indeed we do that He hears and listens to us in whatever we ASK, we also know with settled and absolute knowledge that we have granted to us the requests we have ASKED from Him.” 1 John 5:14-15
“Do not be foolish and thoughtless, but understand and FIRMLY GRASP what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:17
“My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6
“…ASK and you shall receive that your joy may be full.” John 16:24″
God wants to do life WITH US! It is a privilege when He allows us to co-labor together in manifesting His thoughts, plans, and purposes in the earth!
Remember, as I mentioned in the last devotional (“Whenever You Stand Praying”), there are things we can pray for in confidence on the way to becoming fully persuaded in faith for our specific circumstances.
If our situation is an emergency or time critical, we can also seek out more seasoned believers who operate in spiritual giftings, hear clearly from God and can pray over us!
When the Father reveals His will, He is revealing a snippet of His covenant to us! He could share things that aren’t verbatim in the Word, but they will never contradict His scriptures. There is to be a marriage between the written Word and the spoken Word of the Spirit.
If the Prayer of Petition is based on knowing the will of God, this means we can ASK only for things that have been provided for us through the blood of Jesus! In other words, we cannot Biblically ask God to help us rob a bank or marry someone else’s spouse!
I heard someone say, “Don’t wait for a storm to begin patching your roof!” Unfortunately, many believers wait until a crisis hits before discovering what Jesus has provided for them. Because of the pressure a crisis brings, this can feel like running a marathon without a single day of training! We should prepare ahead of time by learning our covenant rights!
The Father tells us not to forget any of the benefits of our salvation! (Psalm 103)
The Holy Spirit desires to reveal the things God has freely given us and lead us to the truth that will set us free! (1 Corinthians 2:12, John 16:13)
Jesus paid the ultimate price to set us free from the curse of the law. He wants us to know everything He has delivered us from! (Galatians 3:13, Deuteronomy 28:15-68)
Listen to the lyrics of the song below. Jesus promises to be the author and the FINISHER of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2). He never fails!
****Be sure and check out a few additional thoughts at the end of this devotional!
“Firm Foundation,” by Cody Carnes
****EXTRA NOTES:
1)There will be circumstances where God’s will is not expressly written in the Word of God, like what company to work for, what school to attend, or who to marry, etc.
In these times, we can be led by our peace (or lack of) according to the instruction in Colossians 3:15 where it says: “And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live].”
2) When praying God’s will for others outside of your spiritual authority, remember that THEIR will and ability to receive is involved. Before praying for God’s will to be accomplished, discern where their faith is.
If necessary, spend some time sharing the light of God’s word with them to build them up. Pray that the blinders keeping them from seeing the Gospel and the benefits of salvation be removed! (Matthew 13:15)