And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.  Joel 2:25 

God recently gave me a lesson, once again, through my little dachshunds, Elsie and Hugo.  It’s funny how He speaks to me using the goofy wiener dogs to get His message across! 

I’ve been praying and standing in faith for many years that God will bring much needed restoration to me in some areas of my life.  

While being entertained by the dogs, it hit me that they were a part of the restoration in my life.  I had two dachshunds before; a black & tan boy named Oscar and a tan little girl named Queenie.  They were my joy - I even had helped Queenie through her eighteen-hour labor to deliver their six little doxies.  They meant the world to me. 

Without going into detail, eleven years ago Oscar was brutally killed by someone I trusted; the person broke Oscar’s little neck in a fit of rage.  In order to keep Queenie safe, I had to give her to a friend to keep.  In one fell swoop, I lost both my dogs and the death knell rang on the relationship with the person who did the evil act. 

I kept praying for God to bring me another black & tan male dog and a tan female dog, as my heart’s desire is always to have a pair.  Several years went by before I found Elsie, a sweet dachshund my husband and I rescued from an abusive situation.  She was a tan little girl!  Two and a half years ago, Hugo came into our lives as a tiny black & tan puppy! 

It dawned on me the other day that I was definitely walking in restoration in the area of my dogs.  The story of Job was quickened to my spirit.  Job 1:1-3 introduces Job to us: 

There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless-a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area.

Then, satan did his thing and Job lost everything - all his kids, all his herds and all his wealth.

 But, in the last chapter of the book, we see that God restored to Job ten more kids and double what he had lost:

So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning. For now he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 teams of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. He also gave Job seven more sons and three more daughters.  Job 42:12-13 (NLT) 

Sometimes I think our definition of a thing and God’s definition are not always conforming.  When I hear the word “restore”, what comes to mind is what Webster’s Dictionary says: 

• To put or bring back into existence
• To bring back or put back into a former or original state
• To put again in possession of something

Yet it doesn’t always show up that way.  When someone or something dies, it is impossible for that specific person or thing to be replaced - they are gone.  Job did get ten more kids and double the animals that he had before, but it surely does not mean he didn’t mourn the children who had died or didn’t miss the animals he had grown close to.  Restitution was made; however, restoration to “original condition” was not. 

Yes, I have two new wonderful, precocious and entertaining doxies, and I love them to pieces!  I believe God heard my heart’s cry and fulfilled the desire of my heart (Psalm 37:4).  However, it doesn’t mean I have stopped missing Oscar and his mate Queenie.  The pain of the crime committed against them and me has subsided over time, but I join Job in realizing that the joy of restoration is most often tinged with the sting of the original loss. 

I believe all of us often are actually experiencing restoration in our lives, but because it doesn’t look like what we expected it to, or because it isn’t identical to what we lost, we don’t recognize it as being restoration.  I encourage you to take a look at your life and ask God to show you what He has restored back to you.  And, as I am for the whacky dachshunds, I pray you are grateful for your restoration, however it comes to you. 

Keep the faith!

When my kids were little, invariably most every night one of them spilled their glass of milk or juice.  Who cleaned it up?  Mom, of course.  When they got older and made a mess, who cleaned it up?  They did, maybe with some help from Mom.  Now that they are grown, they usually have to clean up all by themselves.

What about YOUR messes?  Who cleans them up? 

There are three kinds of messes in our lives. 

• Messes we make all by ourselves.
• Messes someone else makes and we are in the middle of it.
• Messes the devil makes for us.

Messes we’ve caused by ourselves are probably the simplest to clean up (simple, but not always easy!)   Some of the messes we create:  financial trouble by making poor money decisions, not saving, borrowing too much, living beyond our means; poor health due to abusing food and drink and/or not exercising, ignorance regarding our own bodies; career troubles due to procrastinating, not paying enough attention to the important things, bad habits and addictions, and more - the list goes on. 

We fix those messes by repenting for them, turning back to God and asking Him to divinely help us clean up the “spilt milk”.  It takes a quality decision to change our ways.

You have sown much, and bring in little; you eat, but do not have enough; you drink, but you are not filled with drink; you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; and he who earns wages, earns wages to put into a bag with holes.  Thus says the Lord of hosts:   “Consider your ways!”  Haggai 1:6-7

Messes caused by others are not so simple to fix because another’s soul (mind, will & emotions) is involved, not just ours.  A cheating spouse; a thieving employee or partner; an auto accident; a crime committed against you; etc.

Just because the mess is caused by someone else does not mean we are helpless in the situation.  God also gave us free will and the power of choice.  We can choose to extricate ourselves from the situation by leaving the abusive relationship.  We can fire the dishonest employee and be more careful with the next hire.  We can hold people accountable for the harm they have done, either through the legal system or the church’s biblical process.

Justice is a joy to the godly, but it terrifies evildoers.  Proverb 21:15 NLT

Messes caused by satan are those that are made to disrupt your life.  They seemingly come out of nowhere and are meant to sideline you through discouragement, despair and hopelessness.

The word is crystal clear on how we are to handle demonic attacks.  We are to submit to God, resist the devil and he must flee.  (James 4:7)   Jesus gave us power and authority over the enemy.  So often we cave in when the devil attacks.  We slip into victim-mode, and while that is understandable, it is not acceptable for kids of the King to roll over.  When Jesus was attacked by the devil, He used the Word of God against him.  We can, too!

Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.  Luke 10:19

No matter which of the three messes you find yourself in, cry out to God saying, “Help clean up this mess, Lord!”  If you sincerely want out of your mess, He sincerely will help you.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  Hebrews 4:16

Keep the faith!

I’ve been struggling this past year with wanting some answers from the Lord that, so far, haven’t been forthcoming.  I have prayed, fasted, pleaded and cried out for the answers to my questions.  When they have not come, I have sought out godly counsel by talking to pastors, other ministers, friends and other wise folks.  In my search I have bought and read so many books and CD teachings that I can open my own bookstore!  I have become the “Google Queen”, searching online even in the middle of the night for someone somewhere who has asked the same questions before and got the answers.  All this to no avail, leaving me frustrated and wondering.

I’ve been misunderstood by many, ridiculed by some and accused of being impertinent by others! 

There are those who think we should never question God and say I am arrogant to do so.  Huh?  I think I am in good company:  Job, David, Jeremiah and so many others cried out to God in a desperate search for answers to their hearts’ cries. 

• Psalm 13:1  How long, oh Lord, how long will You forget me?  Forever?  How long will You look the other way?

Even Jesus Himself questioned the Father: 

• Matthew 27:46   My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

Then there are those who say there are just some things you will never know until you get to heaven, so don’t even bother trying to figure them out.  Hmmm…..that’s not what the Word says: 

• Proverb 25:2   It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
•  Amos 3:7   Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.

There are others who tell me that God isn’t answering me in order to teach me a lesson.  Ughh, the good old ’suffering doctrine’ crowd - you gotta love ‘em.  Contrary to what many think, God uses the Word to teach us; He doesn’t make us miserable or put cancer on us to instruct us.

• 2 Timothy 3:16-17   All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Some others say that it is my ‘cross to bear’ and I should pick it up and carry it with no complaint, entering into His sufferings.  Unanswered questions are my cross to bear?  Jesus already bore everything for us on the cross!  The only suffering we are to bear is for the Word’s sake - persecution for doing things His way and resisting temptation.  The rest we have authority over, thanks to Jesus.

• 2 Timothy 3:12  Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

The Greek word for persecution used in the above verse is “dioko” which means: to drive away, to harass, to trouble, to persecute.  Notice, sickness, poverty and unanswered prayer are not part of the definition of persecution!

Persecuted is definitely what I have been feeling listening to some of these people.  Imagine earnestly seeking truth and being told some of this silliness.  I know people mean well, but the wisest counsel has been from the honest ones.  They may not have the answers but they admit it and don’t hand out platitudes and unbiblical stuff.

Anyway, so why haven’t I received the answers I am seeking?  Today I found out why:  I haven’t been persistent enough in “digging my well”.

Let me explain.  A pastor friend of mine, Ben Conway, pastors a church in England.  He recently wrote a book called Rivers and Wells, and I read it today.

In it he talks about the need for us to seek out God for ourselves.  While we are new in the Lord it is okay to seek out answers from others such as pastors, healing ministries, counselors, etc.  But, as we grow up in the Lord, He desires for us to walk closely with Him and commune so deeply with Him that we get filled (our well) so much we can flow out to others (our rivers).

• John 7:38   He who believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
• Proverb 16:22  Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it…

As a not-so-immature Christian, I know how to do that.  I know I must be fed in order to feed others; I do that daily (fill up and then pour out to others).  However, because of frustration in not getting answers to these couple of questions, I’ve pulled a small part of myself away from God, mainly out of a spirit of rejection.  Instead of pulling away, I need to dig my well deeper and seek Him even more!  He has promised if I do, He will be found.

• Jeremiah 29:13   And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

How does one “dig deeper”?  One dedicates more time to the Lord.  One becomes “bulldog” tenacious - not giving up!  One values what they are seeking more than anything else (more than TV, internet, work, relaxation, shopping, etc).

• Luke 15:8   “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?”

There is a story in the Word about a widow who went to an unjust judge begging for justice.  She kept hounding him and he wouldn’t answer her….yet she never gave up.  In the end, he said:

• Luke 18:5 (NLT) “….but this woman is driving me crazy.  I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!”

The scripture goes on to say what more we can expect from God who is a just judge!

I encourage you to dig in!  Don’t give up!  Keep on believing God is good and He hears you when you cry!

Keep the faith!

I am very grateful to Ben for his obedience to write this book, and I highly recommend you read it, too.    You can download a copy or buy a paperback version of Rivers and Wells here:  Rivers and Wells

When I used to teach the business accounting and tax classes at the SBA’s Small Business Development Center, I would open every class with an exercise.  I would ask everyone in the class to get out their wallets and tell them to open them up and show me their money.  The looks I got from the students were strange, as you can imagine!

Sadly, there were usually only one or two in the class who had their money in neat and clean order.  The majority had the currency all wadded up, or mixed in with receipts and gum wrappers; some even would say, “I left my money in my car” and “I don’t have any money.”

In explaining the exercise, I told the class that the condition of their money was a clear predictor of the financial success of their businesses.  If they didn’t know how much money they had at any given time and did not have a system to track their money, they were destined to fail.  It was proof that they did not value their money.

Lately, the Lord has been laying on my heart some of the reasons why His kids are not seeing the financial blessings the Word promises.  My heart breaks when I see so many good people losing their homes, not able to afford groceries, utilities, insurance and other necessities - let alone some of the niceties of life.  I ache when I face the reality that, even though my husband and I are holding our own, we are not walking in the fullness of the financial promises in the bible.  Many of these people are tithers and they are generous givers, but they are still embroiled in financial despair.  I seek the Lord for answers.

In the wee hours of this morning, He reminded me of that wallet exercise I used to conduct.  He showed me that, even though they may be givers, His people do not have their financial houses in order.  Spending is unbridled; they can’t differentiate between needs and wants.  They operate without budgets.  The use of debt is out of control.  Living beyond their means is draining them dry - spirit, soul and body.  The state of their financial records is disasterous, if they even keep track at all.

The full counsel of God states we are to tithe and we are to give offerings above tithe, but our blessings will be stymied if we are not good stewards of what we already have. 

I encourage you to do what Dave and I did.  Go to God, repent for your lack of good stewardship and lack of discipline.  Get out of the mess you are in.  Refuse to live that way any longer. Ask Him to show you how to proceed from this day forward.  Go to a professional if needed to come up with an executable plan to live below your means, get out of debt and build savings.  Stick to the plan.  Say no to yourself more often (yikes!)  Is it simple?  Yes.  Is it easy?  Only if you determine to please God above all else.  The rewards are worth it!

Note:  I highly recommend Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover.  It’s a serious method of breaking through to financial freedom. 

Click here to learn about TMMO: My Total Money Makeover

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  Romans 10:9 

For most people, becoming a Christian is very easy in the sense that they hear the promise of God for salvation and they believe it and they act on it as if it is true. 

What about the multitudes of promises beyond salvation?  If we really and truly believed, and acted upon, them, shouldn’t we all be walking here on earth as if it is in heaven?   Why is it so easy to believe for salvation but not for the other promises of God? 

Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 

If we were full of confidence that what the Word promises us - in this life - we would be in a state of earnest expectation.  We would also be preparing ourselves for the arrival of the promises.  If we truly believe and expect, that is what we would do. 

Let’s look at a few biblical promises in light of today’s world.  The promises of God are for whosoever (that means YOU and me!) and many are not only eternal, they are also temporal (in this lifetime, not just after death).

PROMISE

…..If you hearken diligently and obey the voice of the Lord, all these blessings shall come upon you (healing, great harvests, finances, social success, and more).  If you don’t hearken and obey, all these curses shall come upon you (sickness, disease, poverty, and more) Deuteronomy 28:1-68

Do you really believe this promise?  Are you seeing more curses than blessings in your life right now?  Could it be you DO believe the scripture, but you aren’t taking the needed action steps to fulfill this promise?  It is clearly stated, “IF you hearken and obey, THEN the blessings come.”  The hearken and obey is our part.  We cannot have the blessings part without the hearken and obey part any more than a tennis player can win the championship without being in training hours each day for years. 

Are you spending time in His Word (the hearken part) and doing what He leads you to do (the obey part)?  If you are stuck at this place, one thing that works for me:  Go back to the last thing God told you to do that you didn’t do, and do it.  You will break through that blockage.

PROMISE

Jesus said: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Matthew 21:22

Are you seeing evidenced answers to 100% of what you are asking for in prayer?  Why not?  Let’s assume you believe - you have confidence in the promise.  Let’s say you are asking for that bonus you deserve at work, or a new job with higher pay, or to close a deal; all of these would help you give to a charity you respect and will let you take that cruise you’ve been dreaming about for years!  

What would a person be doing who is in total and absolute confidence that what he or she believes will come to pass?   One would be preparing!  If you really believed that bonus, new job or deal was coming, you’d br researching the charities that pull on your heart strings to determine where the money, once it is manifested into reality, will go.  If you were going on a cruise, you would be looking up cruise lines to see which one goes where you want to go and has the activities you want to do.  You would be dieting and exercising like crazy to look your best when you are lying on the pool deck, and to eat all the gourmet food! 

In other words, you would act as if you already have it - which is what the scripture says we are to do:  Believe you receive WHEN YOU PRAY!  You don’t have it yet at the time you are praying, but believing you do gets you there. 

PROMISE

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  James 1:5

Often we cry out for wisdom.  “God, puhleeze tell me what to do!!!”  But we do not take the steps to receive that wisdom.  Many times when I pray for wisdom, I have total assurance I will receive it, but it does not come the way I think it should - divinely *plopped* into my brain!  Nope.  Usually, God will put wise people in my path, or a devotional, a scripture or a book before me; all of which contains the wisdom I need.  My part is to mine for the wisdom; seek it out, trusting that He is giving it to me at the time I have need of it.  We cannot pray, ask for wisdom and then sit on the couch watching TV waiting for wisdom to knock on the door.  We must do our part and actively pursue it as God puts it in front of us. 

Are you doing your part by having confidence in the promise AND taking your action steps to receive your promises?  I would love to see how the world would look if we all believed and acted on those beliefs - it surely would be heaven on earth! 

Keep the faith!

Everywhere I turn, I am seeing good and godly people struggling just to hold on.  Friends are in dire straits financially.  Strong Christians are sick and not getting better.  Panic and fear are gripping those who should know better. 

This causes two things to happen:  One, anger rises up in the core of my being - anger that I still don’t have enough victory myself to be able to help them all; anger that the devil is having a field day trampling down God’s people.  Two, my desire to find the causes, the answers and the manifestation of the promises of God is kicked up into high gear. 

At 3:30 this morning, while talking to God, I realized that many Christians say they are “standing in faith”, but they really are not.  They are “standing in hope”.  The hope is not biblical hope, though; it is akin to worldly wishing.  “I hope I get better”, “I hope I get that job”, “I hope we can pay the mortgage this month”, ”I hope the economy gets better soon”, and “I sure hope God comes through”. 

Part of the reason they have gone from biblical hope (earnest expectation for God to perform His word), is that their shields of faith are riddled with dents from fiery darts. Their helmets of salvation are sitting lopsided on their heads.  Their breastplates of righteousness are tarnished.  The belts of truth around their waists need a couple more notches to tighten them up.  Their swords are rusty and need a trip to the sharpener.  Their shoes of peace have turned into flip-flops of stress and worry. 

Another reason they are wishing instead of being in biblical hope is that they have not truly transferred their burdens to Him.  Yes, they say they have, but they really haven’t.  I do that all the time.  “God, please take care of this for me”, I say in the morning, and then proceed to think about it and let it simmer inside me all day long.  Partly because the issue doesn’t get solved immediately and partly because I won’t let God have the time He needs to solve it for me.

In saying all of this, it is not to put condemnation upon anyone - not even myself.  I am saying it because we need to take a step back from the pain, the fear and the stress.  We MUST get in closer to God now!  We need to stop navigating by our feelings and instead do so by the word of God.  Psalm 91:1 says, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty”.  What a great place to be!

The ONLY kind of hope that we must have is clearly stated in Hebrew 11:1:  “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. 

God wants us to get our hopes up!  Hope in Him!  Hope in His word!  Let’s put the devil on notice by getting into the word of God and standing in faith on what it says, and not what the world and our circumstances say!

Keep the faith!

My son, give attention to my words;
      Incline your ear to my sayings.
        Do not let them depart from your eyes;
      Keep them in the midst of your heart;
        For they are life to those who find them,
      And health to all their flesh.      Proverbs 4:20-22

What do you do when you are lining your life up to the Word of God, purposefully choosing to do His will, and life still seems to be not working right?  We all have been there.  We’ve made our decisions to get sin out of our lives, to ‘do it God’s way’, thinking it will bring us victory and success; yet, nothing changes - or worse, it gets more unpleasant. 

Some real-life examples: 

You’ve made a decision to tithe based on the Word - Malachi 3:8-12, Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42. You’ve heard the testimonies from so many who said, “The moment we decided to tithe, blessings came pouring in!”  The Word promises that you will be blessed if you tithe and you believe it.  Yet, you tithe and the refrigerator and the washing machine and the car all break down the same week!  The money you tithed would have covered all the repairs. 

You decided to dedicate your business, or your job, to the Lord based on the Word -  Proverbs 3:6, Deuteronomy 28:3-13, Deuteronomy 8:18 and Matthew 21:22.  You believe fully that God has your back and that He will prosper the work you do, giving you the power to get wealth, just like it says in the bible!  But, you lose three clients, you lose a big contract, your hours are cut at your job or you are laid off, and you are now wondering, “If this is prospering, I wonder what failing is?” 

After hearing so much about what must be done in the natural to restore good health, and based on the Word  - 1 Corinthians 6:19, 1 Corinthians 9:27, Jeremiah 33:6 and 1 John 2, you chose to drastically make better choices in your diet and lifestyle.  You felt confident that, once you began honoring the temple of the Lord, you would feel terrific and be full of energy.  Instead, you don’t feel that same bountiful level of health others say they obtained when they did the same thing.  You feel blah and are left wondering if all the sacrifice of the foods you love and the pain of exercise are worth it.  

You wonder, “Where the heck is God in all of this?  I thought He said there was a reward for doing the right thing?”  Psalm 18:12 says, “The Lord rewarded me for doing right….”

So, what do you do?  You have a few choices, actually.  You can give up and throw in the towel saying, “Why did I even bother?  I should’ve known God would not come through for me.”  Or, you can go numb because it hurts too much to keep trying to do the right thing and never get the prize.  You could even choose to determine that this Christianity stuff really IS a hoax, created for those who don’t have a brain! 

The only real choice you have is to keep on keepin’ on!  One of my favorite preachers talks about what to do between the “Amen” and the “There-It-Is”.  He says, “Having done all you can to stand, stand some more!”  Ephesians 6:13.  In other words, don’t give up!  

At the same time, you cannot get into murmuring and complaining, moaning and groaning about it.  Yes, there is a time to be honest with the Lord.  Tell Him you are in a quandary.  Tell Him you don’t understand why His Word says one thing but another is happening.  You can share your struggle with a like-minded close friend or mentor, but don’t share it with the world.  Afterward, you must choose to buck up, and endure like a good soldier.

Submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee.  James 4:7 

We must make a choice to base our lives on the Word, not on the circumstances our senses can see, hear and feel.  Another one of my wonderful teachers always says, “The power is in consistency”.  We didn’t get where we are at overnight; God rarely gets us out of where we are overnight.  As it was with the Israelites when they finally entered the promised land, it is with us:  “Little by little I will drive them out before you….”  Exodus 23:30   Slow and steady wins the race!   Consistency has power. 

Don’t give up!  Hang on tight!  Keep on keepin’ on!

This is the fourth part in my series about unanswered prayers for healing. 

Prologue    Part One    Part Two     Part Three

Remember, our premise is God is never wrong, so if something isn’t working as the Word says it should, it is because we are at fault somehow, or it’s the enemy, or a bit of both.  Each of these posts is dealing with just one possible reason prayers go unanswered, and should not be deemed to be all-inclusive! 

The fourth possible explanation for unanswered prayer is:

Disobedience

Catherine has two daughters.  Daughter A is happy and willingly obedient, kind, and loves spending time just being with her mom.  Daughter B is critical and begrudgingly obedient, if she obeys at all, and resents spending any time with Catherine.  Since they are her kids, Catherine loves them both.  Yet, she is more inclined to respond and bless the happy and obedient one and to withhold from the critical and rebellious one.  It is not that she wants to do that, but choices have consequences and one must reap what they sow - good and bad.

It is the same with us and God.  God loves us all, but He has put in place certain rules.  If we follow the rules, all goes well with us (Deuteronomy 28:1-14 and John 14:15); if we don’t follow the rules, we will pay a price for that choice (Deuteronomy 28:15-68 and Galatians 6:7). 

When we’re doing something we know we shouldn’t be doing a barrier goes up between us and God.  It’s like a heavy veil that separates us from Him so we don’t see clearly.  There is an uneasy undercurrent of shame.  The Word says in John 3:21-22, “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.  And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”  It is hard to have confidence, and receive answers to prayer, when we are not doing the right things. 

In regard to healing, we can go back to the example of the man I know who is diabetic yet continually eats the wrong foods.  He knows it is wrong.  It goes against God’s Word.  He does it anyway, all the while praying to be healed of diabetes.  When he doesn’t get healed he starts to think “well, it must be God’s will that I have diabetes because He hasn’t healed me yet”.    Not at all!  God is doing all He can to get healing to the man, but the man refuses to use wisdom and to obey. 

God will not go against His own rules!  It behooves us to follow them.  I am not speaking of legalistic “works”, as many accuse any discussion of obedience of being.  I am talking about the Word!  God puts it all in there FOR us, so we can live in divine health.

There is a simple remedy…. repent!  Repent means more than just being sorry; it means turning around and going in a different direction.  God is faithful to forgive, and to answer prayer!

Keep the faith!

This is the third part in my series about unanswered prayers for healing. 

Prologue   Part One   Part Two 

It is important to realize that each of these posts is dealing with just one possible reason prayers go unanswered, and should not be deemed to be all-inclusive!  Remember, our foundation is that God is never wrong!  Therefore, if things aren’t working for us, it is either our fault, the devil’s fault or a bit of both.

The third reason prayers go unanswered is:

A Divided Mind

A few years ago, I was talking to God about something that was causing me grief.  I said, “Lord, one part of me thinks I should do it this way, yet another part of me says to do it differently.”  He spoke clearly, saying, “You need to get your ‘parts’ together, Tina!”   

James 1:6-8 (NLT) states:  “But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.  Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.  Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.”

The word “double-minded” in the Greek is dipsychos and means:  wavering, uncertain, doubting and divided in interest.  The word “unstable” is akatastatos, meaning:  unstable, inconstant, inconsistent and restless.

Many times we say we want something but our actions and our words contradict the stated desire.  Remember the story about the man who sat by the Bethesda pool for 38 years waiting to be healed?  (John 5:1-9)  Part of him wanted to get well, so it seemed.  Yet another part of him did nothing to get healed.  He just sat there and blamed others because he couldn’t get into the pool.  Jesus asked the man, “Wilt thou be made whole?” (In other words, “Do you really want to get well?”)

A double-minded person lacks conviction in his beliefs.  This causes the choices he makes and the actions he takes to change depending upon circumstances, other people’s opinions, etc.  We cannot have half of our heart aligned with the Word and the other half aligned with the world.

I currently have an issue in my life in which I have been double-minded; it causes intense turmoil in the core of my being.  Part of me desires healing seemingly with ‘all my heart’, but another part of me obviously doesn’t want it because my actions counter what should be done to receive healing.  A counselor friend of mine, and even my doctor, told me, “You obviously don’t want it badly enough.  When you do, you will be healed.”  Ouch, that hurts!  (Truth usually does hurt, doesn’t it?)  So, what do I need to do to get healed?  I need to stop wavering, stop doubting and become undivided in my desire- and take corresponding action. 

How do we become undivided?  We spend time in the Word and make a deliberate choice to line up our thoughts, words and actions with what God says - no matter how we feel.  We choose to walk by faith, not by sight.  (2 Corinthians 5:7)  I am reminded of the song, sung as a military cadence, that my daughter and I used to sing:

                 I’m not moved by what I feel - only by the Word that’s real.

Another reason for a divided mind is that some people have been erroneously taught that God will sometimes bring sickness upon people to teach them something, or to draw them closer to Him.  When they get sick it is hard for them to believe He will heal them.  One part of them says, “I want to be healed and I know He can heal me”; while the other part says, “If God has me sick it must His will.”  They now have a divided mind, and the subsequent instability; thus, no answered prayer.   If one really and truly believes God wants them sick they should never pray to be healed or go to a doctor; that would be going against God’s will!

Jesus asks each of us, “Do you really want to be well?”  We need to choose to be not only hearers but also doers of what He tells us to do.   James 1:22

Part four to follow shortly.

Keep the faith!

This is the second segment of the practical thoughts I want to share with you about why prayers seem to go answered.   The foundation of all of these thoughts is:  We know God is not ever wrong, thank You, God!  And we know His Word is very clear - sickness is a curse (Deuteronomy 28:15-68) and Jesus became a curse for us so those who believe can be free of the curse (Galatians 3:13).  So, where does that leave us who need answered prayer?  The fault lies with us, with the devil, or a combination of the two - it cannot be God! 

The first cause of unanswered prayer I spoke of is Lack of Knowledge (Hosea 4:6).  Today I am going to talk about the obviously related cause:

Not Walking in the Knowledge One Has Received

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  James 1:5

Once we have received knowledge of a biblical principle, or if God has given us His wisdom regarding our situation, we are now responsible for walking in it!  It is a choice….and one we can either make (obedience) or refuse to make (rebellion).

Take my friend from the last post.  She was smart in making the choice to follow the wisdom she received from God, through her new doctor, about her health - she stopped eating the foods that her body cannot process properly and walked in health.  On the few occasions that she rebelled and purposely ate what she wanted, she became sick. 

Walking in the wisdom of God is really a no-brainer, isn’t it?  But sadly, many of us don’t always choose to do it.  I am including myself here, too.

A man I know is 100 pounds overweight and has been diagnosed with diabetes, and is now on medication for that and high blood pressure.  His doctors have told him to lose weight; his family has begged him to regain his health.  He has attended a bible study dealing with health and how his body is the temple of God. (He now has knowledge!)  He loves the Lord.  He cries out to God to be healed; he goes up to the altar for healing at every service, and he says he is “standing in faith for his healing”.   But, he knows what to do for his health, yet doesn’t do it.  His actions do not agree with his desires.

I was in a restaurant not long ago with him and was blown away by his menu choices - regular coke, ravioli, garlic bread and a hot fudge sundae!  None of those items are conducive to a diabetic’s health, nor for the treatment of high blood pressure.  In fact, those items only dangerously exacerbate those conditions; but it was his choice.

A woman I know is a smoker.  She says she wants to quit; she says she knows it is bad for her, and even says God Himself has told her to quit.  (She has knowledge!)  But, every day she lights up again, saying, “I just can’t help myself.”  The bible tells us we can do ALL things through Jesus (Philippians 4:13).  The bible also tells us we are to exercise self-control and to crucify desires not of Him (Galatians 5:22-24).  In spite of that, she continues to smoke.

Why on earth would we expect God to heal us when we are violating His instructions and principles?  God could heal these folks if He chose to, but that is not how God usually works; he operates in biblical principles, which He makes quite plain to us and expects us to walk in them.  The bible says the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).  God does not always remove the consequences (i.e. heal us) when we make choices leading to death; that would be a violation of our free will.

“For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption…..”   Galatians 6:8

Some would say this makes God out to be mean and uncaring, but I would say quite the contrary!  How kind He is to give us a book that tells us exactly what we should do to walk in health, and the Holy Spirit to help us do it!  

Choices.  Just as receiving Him as Savior is a choice, so is the decision to walk in His wisdom and knowledge.

Stay tuned for Part Three, coming up soon!