Believing For Blessings
For today I would like to present the Daily Engagement as more of an activity right from the beginning. The goal is to take a moment and look back on what the Lord has done and look forward with great expectation to the things we are believing for. There are so many things to consider while on this fast, but I feel it is so important to capture & carry a heart of gratitude toward God and His never-ending faithfulness. Considering ALL He has done and bringing that with us in faith as we pray toward ALL of the beautiful and powerful things He has prepared for us. Allowing His past blessings in our lives to remind us of His goodness and charge us as we press on ahead.
Sometimes we think so far in advance we tend to forget the amazing things He has done. Not that we should focus more on the past than the future, but I personally would not want to dwell so heavily on the things that haven’t come to pass that I lose sight of God’s goodness in what has. A scripture that I believe captures the idea of the exercise is…
Psalm 9:1-2 "I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.”
During the following activity and even beyond I encourage you to set the atmosphere with either your favorite worship music, or if you like here is a link to a worship playlist I put together that can also set the tone: CLICK HERE
What I would like you to do is grab 2 larger sized cups or jars. This can be anything from large plastic cups to what I like using, glass mason jars. Feel free to label them if you wish, I label the top of my mason jar lids. The first jar (or cup) will be your “Blessings Jar” and the second will be your “Believing For Jar”. Now that you have your designated jars, start with the Blessings Jar by either tearing or cutting strips of clean paper to write on. Take however much time you need to write down a combination of both spiritual and natural things you know the Lord has blessed you with. This can be anything from a financial blessing such as becoming debt free if you know the Lord had a hand in it, to your salvation, the blessing of your spouse, your children serving the Lord… anything. As you briefly note these blessings down (no more than a few words on each strip), fold them once and toss them in the jar.
Now on the “Believing For Jar”, you will perform the same exercise but instead of filling it with blessings, fill it with things you are believing for. These can be things that are currently in progress that haven’t yet fully come to pass or things that have yet to even begin. Some examples can be if you are believing for members of your family or friends to be saved that are not currently, you’re believing to own your own home some day, you’re believing for God to develop a deeper prayer life in you, you are believing for a good job/better job or you’re believing to see God grow our beloved FC to where the house is overflowing with people hungry for God. Again, these jars are meant to contain both spiritual and natural items.
Once both jars are full, read each piece of paper in your Blessings Jar one last time while giving thanks to the Lord for what He has done.
Psalm 100:4 “Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name.”
Now I want you to speak life (Proverbs 18:21) and PRAY in faith over your Believing For Jar. Praying in accordance with His will, His timing, His way, etc. That we would remain faithful in our prayer, would not waiver in our commitment and we will trust the final outcome to Him. Keeping in mind Isaiah 55:9 which says “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
Personally, I started doing this years ago and at times when I either needed encouragement or just wanted to refresh my memory I would pull out the strips of paper from the Blessings Jar. It has always served as a reminder to me of the Lord’s goodness and also that because He is God, there is much more blessings that will end up in that jar. One of the best feelings is that victory moment when you get to move a strip of paper from the Believing For Jar to the Blessings Jar. With that I also have to say that if something is in the Believing For Jar longer than I would like, I should never be discouraged. Have I already forgotten what was in the Blessings Jar? Could I accomplish these things better in my own strength & ability than the God of the universe? No chance. That’s where our trust & faith come in as we look toward Mark 9:23 which states, “Jesus said to him, ‘If You can?’ All things are possible for the one who believes.”
Switching gears I would like to close out with a prayer…
Lord we thank you for everything that you have done in our lives and on our behalf up to this point. What we are aware of as well as those things we are not, for your goodness goes beyond measure. We look forward with great expectation to what you have planned for us that lies ahead. I pray that we put away the distractions! I feel some of us are one decision away from stepping into all that God has for us. I pray anything standing in the way, that is hindering us from deeper relationship with you be cut off. That we would let it go and give it up! We give You permission to remove everything that is not of You and replace with more of you and greater intimacy with Your Holy Spirit. Cause us to become more Spirit-led in our prayer time, increasing in our sensitivity to Your Spirit and the things that are on your heart. That when our praying in our natural understanding runs out, our praying in the Spirit continues. I pray You would cause a deep hunger for the things of your Spirit and bless us with new revelation as we study Your Word this year.
Overwhelm us, surprise us, grace us with new revelations of You and Your majesty, glory and power. Let us take up our swords in prayer and not convince ourselves that our fight can be fought by someone else. There is a specific and purposed place for all of us to be in this spiritual battle between the Kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. If we don’t fight for our nation, for our state, for our city for our family and for our marriage for our children… who will?
It is time for every one of us to hold the line and take up our rightful place in the authority He has given us and with the tools He has supplied. I pray you would speak to each of us in this area as we are all members of the same Body of Christ. The thief has squatted in our territory FAR too long and it’s time we evict him through the blood and the name of Jesus Christ. That this beautiful house we call Faith Chapel WILL step into every part of the plan God has purposed for us and that as blessings come, no member will seek any glory for themselves. For the glory belongs to the Lord!
Amen
-Joel Munoz