Good morning, Lord Jesus. I welcome You here in my heart and every moment of my day -- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit of God. ...
"Jesus answered them, 'Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and thrown into the sea,' and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours'" (Mark 11:22-23).
You invite me to pray and ask n faith. And the main focus of my faith is to be in You. You said "Have faith in God." So the main focus of my faith, my prayers, and my words is to be in You and who You are. Yes, I am to have faith in what I asking for and speaking to, because You said "believe that what you say will come to pass," but the main focus of my faith is not to be in what I'm seeking to come to pass but in the One I'm seeking. I'm to seek You first, and then these things I'm praying for and speaking to (Matthew 6:33).
Relationship first.
It's like when You sent out Your disciples to proclaim the coming of the kingdom of God in Your name, praying for people and speaking to whatever held them bound and held them back from the fullness of Your mercy and love (Luke 10:1-12). When they returned, they were excited that even the demons submitted to their word spoken in faith and the authority of Your name (Luke 10:17). But even as You rejoiced with them and thanked our Father for them, You reminded them that the main focus of their faith was to be in God and their personal relationship with You (Luke 10:21). You said, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that yhe spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven" (Luke10:18-20).
Lord, increase my faith in You. Help me grow in my focus on You first -- on who You are, on Your nature and on the nature of Your relationship with me. It's out of this intimacy and communion of our relationship that I can pray and say in faith what's on Your heart and what's in line with Your will, because You're aligning my heart and my will with Yours. "Anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him" (1 Corinthians 6:17).
This is how I keep growing to the place in my relationship with You where I pray and say and "do not doubt in (my) heart, but believe that what (I) say will come to pass;" and this is how I keep growing to the the place in my relationship with You where I can "believe that (I) have received it, and it will be (mine)" (Mark 11:22-24). It's not by what I have done or will do, but all by You and what You have done -- the One who's written my name in heaven and on the palms of Your hands (Luke 10:20; Ephesians 2:8; Isaiah 49:16). In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
My family, I pray as we move into the third week of Lent you press into growing in your faith in God and your intimacy with Him that you can pray and say in faith what is in His heart throughout your life, in Jesus' name! Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friends!
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