Repentance – Hope for Complete Healing

1—God’s Promises – Introduction

Are you concerned, maybe worried, about what is happening in America and around the world? Do you wonder how God will work out His will for your life? I have been pondering God’s promises, which have given me peace. If you don’t know His promises, how can you claim them?

Never forget that God keeps His promises. 2Corinthians 1:20 tells us, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.” Also, Romans 4:20-21 states, “No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.” God may not do what you want or how you want, but He always has your best interest in mind because only He knows your future. King David says in Psalm 139:16-18. “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. ¹⁷How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! ¹⁸If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.”

Most of God’s promises are conditional, for example, Jeremiah 7:23 states, “But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’” When we obey God and walk in His ways, then He will abide with us that it may be well with us.

God’s promises are for everyone. Acts 2:39 states, “For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” I have gathered many promises from the Bible, and I am sure there are many more. In future posts, I will share the scripture promises and applications for each of the following categories.

― God promises eternal life and salvation:

― God promises to help you

― God promises to prosper us

― God promises to be our protection/shield/stronghold

― God promises to provide for us

― God promises to reward us

― God is our Refuge

― God promises peace

― God promises us grace and mercy

― God promises to give us wisdom

― We will not be separated from God’s Love

― God promises to give us strength

― God promises to give you rest

― God promises to fight for you

― God promises to forgive our sins when we confess them and forgive others their sins

― God promises to never leave or forsake us

― God promises to deliver us from our troubles

― God promises to give you the desires of your heart

― God promises to lead us

― God promises to answer prayer

― God promises to heal you

God never lies. Titus 1:2 states, “In hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began.” And Hebrews 10:36 states. “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” Matthew 7:21 elaborates, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” John 6:40 explains what the Father’s will is, “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him [you and me] up on the last day.”

Here are a few more fantastic promises, note the condition is to believe. When we believe with our heart we will be saved. Romans 10:9 explains, “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.” So many people only believe with their mind, or they say the apostle’s creed, but don’t believe with their heart. Here is how you know. Does the promise of eternal life make you happy and do the following verses make you excited or are they just Bible verses you memorize at one time? John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:36 “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” In verse 36, we are encouraged to not only believe but obey as well.

If you believe with your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, then God abides in you and all His promises are for you? 1John 4:13-15 tells us, “By this we know that we abide in him [God] and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” How wonderful is that, that the God who created the Universe dwells in us when we believe. Ephesians 3:17a states, “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, which is believing.”

When will we receive the promise of eternal life? 2Peter 3:9 explains, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Repentance is acknowledging your sins and seeking God’s forgiveness (1John 1:9). Sins are anything we think, say, or do that breaks God’s commands, namely, to love Him and to love each other (Luke 10:27). The Apostle Paul told Timothy in 1Timothy 2:4, “Who [God] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Also, John explains in 1John 2:25, “And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.” 2Corinthians 5:1 says, “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” 1John 5:11 “And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.” Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

Ponder the following scriptures and how sin separates us from God and keeps us from receiving eternal life. Romans 5:21 “So that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Galatians 6:8 “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” We sow to the spirit by meditating on God’s word, which is keeping our minds on the things above (Colossians 3:1-3). God never lies, but the devil is a liar (John 8:44) and he will deceive you just enough to create unhealthy beliefs about God’s promises, so you don’t trust God. Satan wants us to remain in his oppressive control. Satan does not want you to spend eternity with God and will do everything to keep you from obeying and doing God’s will.

Conclusion

God keeps his promises, but for us to experience His promises we need to meet the conditions first. His promises are many and for everyone. Today, we looked at God’s promise of salvation and eternal life. The conditions were (1) to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died and was raised again (1Cor. 15:1-6). (2) Believe with your heart and confess with your mouth what you believe. (3) Obey and do the will of the Father. (4) Die to our sinful nature and be righteous. (5) Humbly confess your sins and receive the free gift of God. (6) Sow to the Spirit.

All verses are from the English Standard Bible. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected, and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom.

Check out my first book on Amazon. I would love to hear what you think.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. I will also send you the Lord’s Prayer Model to pray effectively. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

How to Convert Pridefulness to Gentleness and Humility

You might think you have the right to be prideful because of your position in life, accomplishments, or status in the community. None of those situations are bad, nor does it mean you have arrogant, self-centered pride. Being proud of your accomplishments is different than thinking you’re better than someone else. I have to admit that I struggle with pride because I slip into thinking more highly of myself than I ought to. Most pride issues come from unhealthy beliefs that need to be uncovered and transformed by truth.

How often have you heard people make excuses for their bad behavior and accept it as part of who they are? So why is self-centered pridefulness a bad thing? The Spirit of pride keeps you from acknowledging your sin, apologizing, and repenting. I have written several posts on this subject, to learn more please read the posts listed below:

HOW PRIDE DESTROYS

#1 Destroyer of All Relationships and the Solution

Anger Issues Protected by Pride and Judgmental Strongholds

My website is about changing unhealthy beliefs to experience a new reality. What we think and say comes from what we believe, and what we believe directs our behavior. Our choices determine how healthy our relationships will be. In this series of posts, I will expose the unhealthy beliefs that control our lives and how to transform them with the truth to experience a new reality. So why should we deal with pridefulness, and how does it block a gentle and meek attitude?

Where Does the Prideful Belief Come From?

The primary source of sinful pride is the devil. Self-centered, unhealthy beliefs are based on wrong assumptions and perceptions put into our minds by the demonic spirits all around us. Remember, we are spirit beings in a physical body living in a physical world controlled by the spirit world. You can read more about that in my post called: Four Realities of the Spirit World, also see the link below by Dr. David Jeremiah. If you are not submitted to God and are not resisting the devil, he will put the thoughts into your mind that you deserve better treatment than that, and so on.

Satan (angel named Lucifer, meaning “morning star”) sinned because of his pride by wanting to set his throne above God’s throne and was thrown down to earth (Isaiah 14:13-15 and Rev. 12:7-9). He causes us to sin through the same prideful attitude. Pride is thinking more highly of yourself than you ought to think (Romans 12:3), which also encourages us to think with sober (sound) judgment, that is, with a humble attitude. You know you have a spirit of pride when you are self-centered and insist on getting what you want at the expense of others. And, you know you are prideful when you become offended and get a bad attitude toward someone for what they said/did not say or did/not did something you felt was unfair.

How do you know if you are humble?

God’s word defines a humble person as follows:

1. Someone who fears God (Prov. 15:33; 22:4).

2. A person who bears with others and is kind, patient, and forgiving (Eph 4:2 & 32).

3. When we count others as more important than ourselves (Phil. 2:3).

4. If you have wisdom that is pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere (James 3:17; Proverbs 11:2).

5. Someone who has acknowledged they are a sinner and repents (Psalm 149:4).

6. A person with a contrite (repentant) heart who trembles at God’s Words (Isaiah 66:2).

7. A humble person is not judgmental but gives grace (Eph 4:29).

What Is the Truth That Transforms this Unhealthy Belief?

The truth is that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (1Pet 5:5 and James 4:6).” 1Peter 5:6-7 states, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” Give God all the worries that cause you to be anxious, and trust God to take care of all your concerns. When you worry, you exalt yourself above God because you do not trust Him to take care of your affairs. When you humbly give God all your concerns, He promises to exalt you at the proper time.

James 4:7 states, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” When we submit to God, we are humbling ourselves and acknowledging our sin and need for His power and strength. But we are also to resist the devil and his temptations toward selfish ambition and pride. James 3:14-16 states, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to [deny] the truth. ¹⁵This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. ¹⁶For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile [evil] practice.” First, humbly ask God to show you if this verse applies to your life. Secondly, if you see selfishness, acknowledge that you have an unhealthy pride that leads to selfish ambition and ask for God’s forgiveness. Thirdly, ask God to remove it and to give you a humble spirit.

How To Change Unhealthy Beliefs

1. Before you can transform unhealthy beliefs, listen to what you are saying and pay attention to your thoughts because they come from unhealthy beliefs.

2. Submit the wrong thinking to God and ask Him to show you His transforming truth.

3. Ask God to show you if there is a painful memory contributing to your pridefulness. Satan takes every opportunity to inject pride into our minds.

4. Pray and put off the unhealthy belief controlling your thoughts and put on the truth God shows you from His Word.

I first loosed the wrong thinking that God showed me and replaced it with scripture truths similar to the following:

Humility realizes that everything I have, including my abilities, is a gift from God. Deut. 8:17-18

I do not think of myself more highly than others, but in humility, I will regard others as more important than myself. Rom. 12:3; Phil. 2:3

God lifts up the humble in due time, so I will cast all my anxiety on Him because He cares for me. 1 Pet. 5:6-7; James 4:10

I am humbled when I see my need for God and trust He will guide me in what is right for all His ways are loving and faithful. Ps. 25:9-10

When I am humble, then I will be honored. Prov.15:33b

HOW TO DESTROY THE DEVIL’S WORK IN YOUR LIFE

Who Is Lucifer in the Bible?

All verses are from the English Standard Bible unless otherwise indicated. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. No part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Life-Changing Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, salvation for non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a person making the request.

Last Days: Part Seven—God’s Wrath and The Rapture

Do you think the rapture will happen pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, post-tribulation, or pan-tribulation? Pan means, however the rapture pans out. One thing we know, we will face suffering and troublesome times in the last days, which I explain in Part two. Over 2000 years ago, the first century writers proclaimed that we were in the last days. How much closer are we today? In this post, I want to address the uncomfortable subject of God’s wrath and the tribulation. Revelations15:1 states, “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished.”

The Bible says in Ephesians 5:6, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.” What things is Paul referring to? Ephesians 5:5 explains, “For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” I explain this in more detail in the posts called: Are you in control of your life? And, What Will Cause You to Lose Your Inheritance. I encourage you to read them.

What is the wrath of God, and how do we avoid it?

God is Holy (perfect, untainted by evil) and deserving of reverence and worship. God has wrath on sin, which is disobedience of His instructions in the Bible. To avoid God’s wrath, you need to receive the atonement (payment) of your sins through Jesus Christ, God’s Son. 1Theselonians 5:9 tells us, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” John 3:36 tells us, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Have you warned your friends and neighbor’s about the wrath of God and salvation through Jesus Christ?

The flood in Genesis 6 was God’s wrath on a wicked world. Likewise, the tribulation described in Revelations is God’s wrath on the wicked, who do not repent of their sins. Romans 1:18 states, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” Do you see how godless people are suppressing the truth in our world today? What is happening in America with the Leftist’s evil desire to eliminate the truth and control what they want us to think and do is concerning, but not surprising. History repeats itself.

Since the tribulation is God’s wrath on humanity’s wickedness, yet God has not destined us (the righteous) for wrath; therefore, the righteous will be removed from the earth before the tribulation begins. An example is when God saved Noah and his family from the flood. 1Peter 3:20 tells us, “Because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.” God is waiting for each of us to humble ourselves and repent of our sins. Do it now before the tribulation starts and it is too late. 1Peter 3:9 states, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Remember the conversation between God and Abraham about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. God would not destroy the two wicked cities if there were any righteous people in them. Lot and his family were the only righteous people, so God sent an angel to lead them out before He destroyed the cities (see Genesis 18:22-33).

Who are the righteous?

Malachi 3:18 states, “Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” How are you serving God? The Bible also explains that the righteous lives by faith. Hebrews 10:37-39 explains, “For, ‘Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.’ But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” 1John 2:28-29 states, “And now, little children, abide [remain; stay] in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29) If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.” Living by faith is active trust in the promises of God based on the evidence in the Bible and the lives of those who live by faith. Read my post on the 15 Promises We Can Trust God to Keep.

When you practice something, you perfect a skill by repeating the task until you can do it flawlessly. For instance, when you practice a song on the piano, you don’t get it perfectly right the first time you play it. But after playing the piece many times, you become, near perfect. It is the same with righteousness. 1John 3:7-8, 10 explains, “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.8) Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 10) By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.” In my post called The End Will Come: Part Four—Be Ready in Love., I explain why and how we are to love.

Thank you for reading this post, so to respect your time, I will continue this subject in the next post as there is so much more to cover. But before I end, I want to encourage you with what God spoke to Isaiah in Chapter 3. Replace Judah with the United States. Ponder these three verses. Isaiah 3:1, “For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah [USA] support and supply, all support of bread, and all support of water;” Isaiah 3:8, “For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah [USA] has fallen, because their speech and their deeds are against the LORD, defying his glorious presence.” And Isaiah 3:10, “Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their deeds.” What is the fruit of your deeds? The Albert Barnes commentary says, “As a farmer who sows his field and cultivates his farm, eats the fruit of his labor, so shall it be with the righteous. A similar expression is found in Pro. 1:31.”

How are you practicing righteousness? How are you living by faith? What does righteousness look like in your life?

Grace and peace to you in the coming year.

All verses are from the English Standard Bible unless otherwise indicated. If you find my posts and website helpful, please share my website link with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected. No part of the blog or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom and this website.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, salvation for non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name, so I know you are a real person making the request.

Unanswered Prayer? Doubt or Faith.

Why are some prayers answered, but some are not? The Bible promises in Matthew 21:22, “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” James 1:6-8 states, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7) For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord 8) he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

Do you doubt God answers prayer? If yes, then ask God to show you any painful memories of disappointment that is causing you to doubt. Forgive the person who caused the pain or disappointed you, and then ask God to take the resulting resentment. Next, find something to be thankful for concerning that disappointment to transform the memory. Read chapter five of my book called, 5–Finding Painful Memories and Healing Issues.
Are you disappointed because of unanswered prayers? If yes, then ask God to show you what His best is for you and accept His sovereign will for you. Next, mentally submit your plans and requests to God and trust He has a good purpose for your life in His timing. Many of King David’s Psalms reveal his disappointment and submission to God’s sovereignty in his life. See my post called Know Your Purpose? .
Do you feel you are not worthy and that God does not love you? This unhealthy belief is from a painful memory, so let God reveal it and heal it. To understand how this works, read my book on my website.
- Even if you don’t feel God cares, the truth is, He does. 1Peter 5:7 says, “casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” And when you commit your problems to God in faith, you will have peace. Believe that “He causes all things to work together for good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Do you believe?

Reason Five: Do you doubt God in any way?

First, what is faith?

Hebrews 11:1 states, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” And Romans 8:24 tells us that “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?” Faith believes God will do what He has promised, so I pray the promises of God over situations in my life.

Matthew 9:29 “Then he touched their eyes, saying, ‘According to your faith, be it done to you.’” This verse is most concerning because what we receive will be according to our faith. So, if we have a little faith then we will get a little. 2Kings 4 tells the story of the widow who met Elisha and asked him how she can pay her debt so that she and her son would not get sold into slavery to pay the debt. When he asked her what she had, she said she only had a jar of oil. He told her to gather as many empty vessels from her neighbor as she could. Then pour the oil she had into those empty vessels. She could have doubted that such a thing could be done, but she gathered all the empty vessels she could find according to her faith. Then she filled every jar from that one jar of oil. The oil stopped when she finished filling all the containers. If she only got a few jars, then that was all the oil she would have gotten. It is the same with our faith. The moral of the story is that faith requires absolute obedience to experience answers to prayer.

Another example of great faith was when Jesus was walking on water, and Peter said in Matthew 14:28, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus said, “come,” and Peter got out and began to walk on the rough waves towards Jesus. WOW, could your faith be that great? He was doing great until he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the waves. When he realized what he was doing, he became afraid and began to sink. Matthew 14:31 “Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” The moral of the story; keep your eyes on Jesus, not your circumstances.

Matthew 16:8 states, “But Jesus, aware of this, said, ‘O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread?’” The disciples witnessed Jesus taking five loves of bread and two fish to feed 5000 people, then seven loaves to feed 4000 people. In this verse, the disciples were concerned about not bringing food with them for the journey. Did they forget how Jesus multiplied the food he had to feed thousands of people? The moral of the story; Jesus will do miracles to provide what you need according to your faith.

Matthew 17:20 states, “He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.’” In this story, the disciples could not cast out a demon from a young boy. When Jesus cast the demon out, the disciples asked Him why they could not. Now, Jesus does not mean to move a literal mountain; otherwise, there would be no mountains. The mountains represent the impossible things in our lives.

My faith was tested when I needed to find another home for my children and me. My first husband was throwing us out of our home due to the divorce. I prayed for weeks for God to show me where to go, but the only income I had was child support. A friend suggested I start a sewing business. My business provided enough to put food on the table and pay the bills. But I did not make enough money to pay rent in my community. I found a cheap house that needed fixing up. So I went to a banker in my church about getting a mortgage, and he said I could not get a mortgage because I did not have a steady income. I continued to pray, and then God did a miracle and moved my mountain. I got a call that a small bank in another county was willing to give me a small mortgage. WOW!!! I bought the fixer-upper house, and God increased my business so I could pay the mortgage and all my other expenses, plus fix the place up. The moral of the story; God still does miracles and moves mountains to meet our needs.

Mark 5:34 states, “And he said to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease.’” The story behind this verse is of a woman who went to every physician, and they could not help her. Her only hope was for Jesus to heal her, so by faith, she approached Jesus through the crowd of people around Him so she could touch His garment. Jesus felt power leave Him, so He turned to see who had touched Him. She confessed that she touched Him. Her faith brought the healing she hoped for. The moral of the story; faith connects to the power of God. Why are many not healed when they pray by faith and believe God will heal them? Read, How the Devil Causes Trouble and my other posts on why prayers are not answered.

When you doubt, you are not trusting God.

Are you consumed by worry or anger? When we worry and are angry, we doubt God can help us. Our emotions become like the waves of the sea described in James 1:6 because our negative thoughts act as the wind to whip-up our emotions. When we worry, we fear the worst will happen, and we are not trusting in God. Don’t expect He will help you if you are not asking and trusting Him. Philippians 4:6-7 states, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Anger demands justice and retribution for an unfair wrong done against you. God will patiently wait for you to turn the issue to Him before He acts on your behalf.

Proverbs 3:5-10 explains how to trust God.

5) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.

Does your heart reflect trust?

6) In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Do you acknowledge Him in all your plans?

7) Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 8) It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

Are you humble? Do you fear God and repent when you sin and do evil?

9) Honor the LORD with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; 10) then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.

Do you tithe?

Conclusion

The greater your faith, the greater the miracles. The greater the doubt, the more you worry and become angry. Faith looks to God in hope and expects Him to provide excellent things. Doubt looks to the distressing circumstances and sees no hope that things can be better. God is waiting for us to come to Him in faith and receive the good things He has for us.

RELATED POSTS:

15 Promises We Can Trust God to Keep

Pt. 2: Why You Can and Cannot Trust God?

Unanswered Prayer? Why?

Unanswered Prayer—Are You Connected?

Unanswered Prayer—Are You Presentable?

Unanswered Prayer? Are You Presentable?

If you were to appear before a King or Ruler of a Nation and given the chance to ask him or her to do something, how would you dress and act? Take a moment and visualize it. Would you be humbled, cleaned up, neat, polite, be conscious of customs as not to offend, etc.? Now, how is that different than coming before the King of the Universe in prayer? Do you think you can go before Him in pride and with an unrepentant, filthy heart and demand Him to give you what you want?

To continue the simple illustration of electricity. Suppose prayer is the power cord, and faith is the action of plugging into the power source. In that case, hope is the expectation the power source will deliver results. If a lamp is plugged in but does not turn on, you need to look for the reason. Prayer connects you to God through the Holy Spirit that dwells in you when we believe in Jesus Christ and receives forgiveness for our sins. Unrepentant sin short-circuits the power of your prayers.

Reason Four: Unrepentant Sin short-circuits our prayers.

We cannot approach a Holy God in prayer if we are not presentable by having unrepentant sin in our lives. What is sin? Sin is disobedience to God’s instructions to love Him by keeping His commands and loving one another. Sin is knowing the right thing to do and not doing it (James 4:17). The following verses explain why unrepentant sin prevents your prayers from being answered.

Psalms 66:18 states, “If I regard wickedness (sin) in my heart, the Lord will not hear;”

Isaiah 59:1,2 states, “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. 2) But your iniquities (sin) have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you so that He will not hear.”

1Peter 3:12 also says, “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

Psalms 34:14-18 explains, “Turn away from evil (to harm) and do good; seek peace and pursue it. 15) The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. 16) The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. 17) When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. 18) The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Unrepentant sin includes not forgiving those who sinned against you because God instructs us to forgive. Matthew 5:23, 24, states, “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” If you struggle forgiving those who did evil against you, please read my post on why we should forgive.

Wayne Jackson writes in “6 Reasons Why Some Prayers Are Never Answered” on ChristianCourier.com. “If you know that someone has a legitimate grievance against you, how can you sincerely approach God in prayer? Uncorrected problems with brethren are extremely detrimental. Peter certainly stressed that discordant home relationships could hinder prayers (1 Pet. 3:7). Where domestic wrangling and bitterness prevail, prayer can never be effective.” What do you think? Would you agree?

Solve the problem of sin through repentance and the work of Christ on the cross.

1John 1:9 states, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Pastor Darryl Baker writes in “Abiding in the Word” blog, “Because of what Christ did in bearing our sin and the punishment of our sin, we no longer need to live fearful of approaching our heavenly Father. The sin that separated us is gone and we can now approach God with complete confidence. So as a believer we should daily draw near to Him and He will draw near to us. Don’t ever run from God, run to Him. If you have sinned repent, and run back to the Father for He awaits with arms open wide to help you get back on your feet again.” And he writes, “It is the devil who tries to keep us from approaching God by making us afraid to do so through wrong thoughts. Scripture teaches us to come boldly to the throne of grace, to find grace and help in our time of need. God is waiting to help us overcome whatever we may be dealing with in life, but we must draw near to Him to get that help. The door is open so don’t ever run from Him. He is your answer, He is your deliverer, He wants to help you; and most importantly He wants you to know Him.” I agree, but we need to come before Him with a repentant and humble spirit.

Hebrews 4:14-16 states, “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

15) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

16) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

James 4:6-8 says, “But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.‘ 7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

These verses are the theme verses for my county jail Bible study. I have the women memorize them. One inmate return because her roommate had alcohol in the apartment which meant she broke her probation. When she came to the Bible Study, she was excited to still be able to quote the verses above from memory. I encourage you to memorize Hebrews 4:14-16 and James 4:6-8.

Conclusion:

God is loving, merciful, gracious, and slow to anger. Psalm 103:8 states, “The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.” He is also Holy and Just; Isaiah 5:16 says, “But the LORD of hosts is exalted in justice, and the Holy God shows Himself holy in righteousness.” So, we need to approach Him with humility and with repentance if we want him to hear our petitions.

Reasons One and Two Why Prayer Is Not Answered

Unanswered Prayer—Reason Three

How to Recognize and Eliminate Emotional Cancer

All verses are from the English Standard Bible. If you find my posts and website helpful, then please share the links with your friends and family, hopeforcompletehealing.com. The information is copyright protected and no part of the posts or my book may be reproduced without proper citation to Joyce Hanscom.

Contact me at hopeforcompletehealing@gmail.com, and ask for a PDF of Eight Prayers from the Bible. The prayers are for the Spirit of wisdom, renewal, spiritual strength, knowledge of His will, virtues of God, non-believers, 23rd Psalm, and victory. Please leave your name so I know you are a real person making the request.

P.S., experiencing a lasting change in your life depends on having a right relationship with God the Father through believing in His Son Jesus Christ and obeying His command to love (1 John 3).