Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now, Faith is the substance of the things you hope for and the evidence of the things you cannot see." What I want to share briefly is the EVIDENCE of the things you cannot see.
As I was praying this morning, the Lord showed me how this scripture works IN our favor! You see, I know 1 John 5:14-15 states, "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know He hears us, then we know we receive the petitions we desired of Him." Jesus taught in Mark 11:22-24 that we were to "have Faith in God....believe you receive the things you ask for as you pray, and you shall receive them."
Ok, look at like this (this what the Lord showed me this morning). Are you saved? (yes). How do you know? I know because Romans 10:9 says "Whosoever shall confess with his mouth and believe with his heart that God raised Jesus from the dead shall be saved." "OK" the Lord said, "but why do you believe this?" "Because it's in your Word and your Word is true, John 17:17" I responded. He said, "That's right, but HOW do you know you are saved?" I said, "I believe by Faith." That is when He said this, "So, because you seen it in my Word and prayed the scripture and BELIEVED it when you prayed it...nobody can talk you out of it?" I replied with, "That is exactly right." His response was, "When did you receive it?" (The moment I prayed). "When will you see the manifestation of it?" he asked. "Well" I replied, "when I get to Heaven...but it is also evident on this earth in my daily life."
"So," the Lord said, "you believed you received it when you prayed...and got it. But you will not see the actual manifestation of it until later...but yet, you KNOW you got it and the benefits of it are being seen in your life right now."
Now, I may have been born at night...but not last night! The Light came on! I SEE what He was talking about. "And about healing," He continued, "When did you receive your healing?" "That's easy," I answered, "You took care of that at Cavalry. By your stripes, we WERE healed! And, if we WERE healed, that means we ARE healed."
"So," the Lord said, "You believe you receive your healing as soon as pray for it?" "That's correct," I said. "But, what about the symptoms of the sickness that linger on your body for a few more days? the Lord asked. "Well, I stand on your Word and I am not moved by what I see or what I feel, but I am moved only by your Word...and your Word says I am healed."
"Good," the Lord complimented. "So, you believe you receive as you pray. You are not moved by what you see, but yet you KNOW you received what you prayed for. It worked the same way as your salvation. Correct?" "YES," I answered.
"So you KNOW you received...even when you cannot see it? And simply because you CAN see it in the Word? Is that right?" the Lord asked. "YES, that is correct" I responded.
"So, the EVIDENCE is because you CANNOT SEE IT. You must take it by Faith, KNOWING you received. Once you have the manifestation...no further FAITH is required on your part." I was starting to SEE with my Faith exactly what He was talking about!!!
You see folks, when we pray...and pray according to the scriptures (I have said over and over, "If you can find ONE example in the Bible where the Lord answered someones prayer in a situation similar to yours, you can stand on it and take to Him in prayer to get your answer also)...we can BELIEVE He hears us and, since we KNOW He hears us, we can now KNOW we receive the petitions we desired of Him. We have the PROOF that we receive because WE KNOW in our heart it is so...the PROOF (the EVIDENCE) is because WE CANNOT YET SEE THE MANIFESTATION!
It is the EVIDENCE WE CANNOT SEE that gives our Faith what it needs to grow. Once the manifestation comes...we can no longer grow in our Faith in that area. So it is OUR FAITH that is needed to grow...and that brings the manifestation. Jesus said, "Be onto you according to your Faith." Give your Faith a chance to grow by BELIEVING you RECEIVE and thanking HIM because YOU CANNOT SEE IT YET WITH YOUR NATURAL EYES - BUT USE YOUR EYE OF FAITH!!!
And give Him Praise for the Answered Prayer!
Be Blessed,
Brother Bob
A Blog from Pastor Robert Thibodeau and Freedom Through Faith Ministries. We will use this Blog to update you to important events as well as fulfilling our mandate to "Empower others to Impact Their World with the Gospel of Jesus Christ." We also will help those seeking answers to some of the questions confronting them in life. We are believing this ministry will reach "around the world" with the Word of God.
Reading this reminds me of class at JSMI. I can still hear Pastor Shook teaching us on Faith then showing us by living it.
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