Do You Still Believe When It’s Winter?

 

 

I often venture out on prayer and wildlife walks, as I find those elements are a great combo. I get to take time out from busyness and purposefully direct my attention to our creator God.

Check out  the two images above, taken of my favourite place to walk. Take your time, and study the first image, taken in winter. Who would have believed anything could ever grow in that barren looking land? It looks dead. Hopeless. 

Now study the second image taken in late spring. I can tell you that this gorgeous scene was accompanied by an equally beautiful scent! But it’s the same park. It turns out that there was an awful lot going on below the ground during that winter scene. 

That’s exactly what our walk with God can be like sometimes. There are things that we need God to do in our lives and it looks as though nothing at all is happening. Our situation looks dead. You’ve prayed and sought God, and now anxiety is beginning to take the place of faith because you can’t see anything happening. But did you know that God heard you the very first time you made your request to him?

Prayer is a supernatural weapon given to us by God. As such, we don’t always see its effects immediately – there is a spiritual and a physical dimension  to be considered  when you pray. 

The Bible informs us that it is at the point of prayer where things happen: “So I tell you to ask for what you want in prayer. And if you believe that you have received those things, then they will be yours.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭11‬:‭24‬ ‭ERV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/406/mrk.11.24.ERV. 

A note of caution about the ‘what you want’ bit - you don’t have grace to get revenge on someone you don’t like, or to ask God to make you a millionaire overnight! Prayer is not a fruit machine that you simply insert cash and hope to get more cash from. Our God is holy, and He deals with us at a heart level. He knows what’s really going on in your heart. 

The verse prior to this contextualises things nicely, as it refers to ‘mountains’, or ‘problems’ that seem impossible to move: 

“The truth is, you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, mountain, fall into the sea.’ And if you have no doubts in your mind and believe that what you say will happen, then God will do it for you.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭11‬:‭23‬ ‭ERV‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/406/mrk.11.23.ERV

The point is, we are to believe God when things look as desolate in our lives as the first image above. Times like these can produce our richest prayers. Study the second image, and use it to believe God when your life still resembles the first. 

I encourage you to do this:

1. In your difficult circumstances, spend time reading and absorbing the verses in Mark 11: 20-25.

2. Allow God to bring these verses to life on the inside of you. That’s called ‘faith’. 

3. Once faith is stirring - and ONLY when faith is stirring, go to verse 23, which actually tells you the words to speak concerning your situation. Insert your specific problem where it refers to ‘mountain’. 

Why do I recommend time in the word of God first? Because without it, all you have is sheer willpower. You’ll run out of steam before you know it. And we also have an adversary, the devil, waiting to steer you away from the word of God. (1 Peter 5:8).

You see, many times people wander around making great-sounding, biblical declarations as though simply saying them repeatedly will get the job done. It won’t. That’s why you need my very first step above! You can walk around all you want, declaring ‘I’m healed! I’m healed!’ or whatever your need may be. But remember, your mind/ body knows what you really believe. There’s no shame in that. We all believe wrongly sometimes. So use step one above to get your heart in line with right believing. 

My brother, my sister, our God sees your ‘springtime’, resplendent with abundance, whatever that abundance may represent to you, and He wants you to see it too.  For some, it’s simply a desire for lasting peace in a life of turmoil. For others it means having pressing needs met. It could mean the healing of relationships, or the restoration of health. There really is no limit. But it begins with what you see through the eyes of faith. 

Remember, as you go through whatever you may be facing, let your words take you where you would like to go, as Mark 11:23 specifies. If you are in ‘winter’, take time in the word of God to believe, allow faith to flourish, and ONLY then, begin to speak. Your situation is not hopeless. It is simmering with breakthroughs!

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