I noticed something about my younger daughter. Anytime she wanted me to buy her stuff, she would come up with statements like, “Daddy, promise me you will buy it. Daddy, say something now.” At times, I managed to refrain from making any promise. But most times, she would pester me until I made her a promise. That’s all she needed. I have no choice but to fulfil my promise.
Friend, your faith is hinged on the promises of God. Simply put, you cannot have faith for what God has not promised (Romans 4:21). This is one reason why the faith of some people does not deliver. They are trying to have faith for what God has not promised. Then, they begin to accuse God of not being faithful. Always remember this; God is faithful, able, ready, and willing. It is your faith you need to work on.
Prayer is not just bringing your requests or needs to God. It is bringing God’s word to Him and committing Him to perform (Hebrews 13:5-6). If you are word-bankrupt, you would be faith-empty. It is on the premise of divine promise that our faith produces results. The more promises of God you know, the better you can enforce or demand them in the place of prayers (1 John 5:14).
We must understand the difference between Bible hope and human hope. While hope is positive expectation of good, we need to know where to place our expectations (Psalms 62:5, Proverbs 23:18). For example, you can hope that someone would give you 50 million naira, but the question is, “Has the person promised you that amount of money?” If He did, you have Bible hope. If not, it is just human hope that can be disappointed.
Abraham could hope (Bible hope) against hope (human hope) because of what God said to him (Romans 4:17-18). It was this hope that produced the faith of Abraham. Despite the condition of his body, he could have hope that he would father a child because of the promise that God made to him (Romans 4:19-21). If we must be dealers in hope, then we must dig into God’s word to find out what He has said concerning our lives and situations (Psalms 119:49).
Since faith is the substance of things hoped for, a hopeless man will be a faithless man (Hebrews 11:1). This season, stay hopeful. Find out what God has said in His word concerning you. Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit concerning your life and situations. Then, hold on to it as the basis of your hope. Hope does not disappoint because God is faithful to His word (Romans 5:5). Amen.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria