Stop Working For Blessings
Sometimes when you’ve been praying for something for a very long time, you get frustrated. We have all been in that place before; where it seems like you’ve been believing for so long, your faith begins to dwindle. Some of us may even attempt to kickstart our faith again by laying our deeds at God’s feet.
I have heard many leaders in Christ give words of encourage to Believers by saying things like: remind God of all your deeds and the works you have done. Remind Him of your tithes and offering, of the seeds you have sown, of the fasts you’ve completed—remind God of everything you’ve done in His name and He will give you favor.
These words are typically based on the scripture from Isaiah 43:26 KJV, “Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.”
My friends, please don’t be confused; this verse from Isaiah is not a message for us to remind God of what WE have done; it is a message for us to remind God of what HE has done—to remind Him of the promises He has made to us.
Remind Him of the abundant life you are supposed to have according to John 10:10.
Remind Him of the plans He has for you: to prosper you and give you hope and a future just as He said in Jeremiah 29:11.
Remind Him that we are co-heirs with Christ, that God’s promise to Abraham is also a promise to you as Paul taught us in Galatians 3:29.
These are the things we are to put God in remembrance of—not of the things we have said and done. Some of you might say: why wouldn’t I remind God of my tithes and offering? My time in prayer? My fasting and sowing?
Because when you start focusing on things you have done in your own strength, you diminish the grace of God. My friends, when Jesus Christ—our Lord and Savior—gave Himself up on the cross at Calvary, our job as Believers became SO much easier. We no longer had to make animal sacrifices, build altars, or attend confessional with a High Priest. All we have to do when we want God to intervene in our lives is just believe.
When we pray, we speak directly to Jesus Christ. We send our requests straight to the Creator of heaven and earth—after we utter our needs and petitions, our part is done! All we’ve got to do from there is trust and believe that Christ will handle the rest. But once you start coming to God and saying things like; remember that time I fasted for 12 hours, God? Hey, did you notice how much I put in offering last Sunday? So… I spent an extra hour in prayer last night, where’s my blessing??
That sort of speech disregards grace and makes blessings from God an obligation rather than a gift. In other words, when you remind God of your own works, you are saying these are the things I’ve done, and now you owe me blessings. There is no grace in that sort of speech, there is no faith, no evidence of the blood of Christ.
As Believers, we do not work for blessings. We live according to the righteousness of God and blessings come naturally because God loves us and wants to bless us. Once we begin working for blessings, working for healing, working for a shift in our marriage, for that promotion we want, for a spouse, we begin to cut faith and grace out of the mixture.
Look at the verse from Romans 4:4 KJV, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.”
In other words, when you depend on your works you begin to expect blessings as a payment not as a gift because of the grace of God. That is when you have completely disregarded grace and faith and have sank back into the Law. Stop thinking that you can work for your breakthrough. Never let yourself get so frustrated in your waiting period that you begin to work for God’s answer.
Please don’t get confused; I’m not saying you shouldn’t expect blessings from the Lord when you fast or give offering—what I’m saying is that you shouldn’t expect God to bless you simply because you’ve done those things. Its important to remember that praying, fasting, sowing seeds, tithing, giving offering—these are all wonderful things that you should be doing as a Christian, BUT they are not works. They are actually acts of faith.
In faith, you cheerfully give your tithes and offering, knowing that the Lord God will reward you later. In faith, you fast and pray to deepen your relationship with God so that you can stand firmly on the Word in the face of evil. In faith, you sow seeds knowing that the Word will nourish and sustain them—knowing that they will grow and manifest in your life soon. These are all acts of faith that are wonderful and are helpful in your walk with Christ, but never mistake them for works that require payment from God. That’s not how this works.
Does any father make his own children work for his kindness? No, they don’t! When has any father ever looked at his infant child and said; I will not smile at you or teach you how to walk until you pay my rent this month. NO father has ever done that.
So why would God, our Heavenly Father, make you work for His kindness and His favor? My friend, all you have to do when you pray is believe that it will come to pass. Do not let the enemy weigh you down or discourage you with time, distractions, or trials. No matter how long its been, God remembers, God sees, and God hears your prayers. He will honor the promises He has made in your life. If you will just trust Him long enough and have the faith to hold on—you will see a manifestation that is far beyond anything you ever imagined.
Stay strong, in Jesus’ name.