The mirage of answered prayers and why God tests our faith. 💔😢

Isaiah 55:8-11; Ezekiel 37:7-10; John 6:63; Hebrews 10:38

Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve been praying to God for something, it looks as if it’s all coming together but then you end up with nothing? Sometimes it takes the form of there being a lot of activity which looks as if God is finally moving but in the end you still end up disappointed?

Ezekiel’s vision in the valley of dry bones has some lessons for us on this.

• First, God told Him to prophesy unto the bones. Basically, speak the words of God unto the situation. Not just any words, but the words of God. It was as he did this that the dry bones started coming together. There was noise. Bones probably flying all over the place. So much activity that he rightly could have just stood and watched it all come together in God’s miraculous way. But in the end, it was all just activity. The dry bones now had flesh on them but no life.

• God then instructed Him to prophesy again! Basically, don’t get lacklustre in your faith because of all you see happening around you. Keep prophesying because the job isn’t complete. So he prophesied again and the breath of God came into the dead bodies, they came to life and stood on their feet! What a great sight. 🙌🏾

The clear lessons here are the power of persistence in prophesying and claiming the promises of God. God’s words are spirit and they are life (John 6:63). They go forth and will not return void until they accomplish the purpose unto which they have been sent (Is. 55:11). 

So many of us give up after trying for some time. But God says in Heb 10:38 – “now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in Him”. What this is telling us is that just like Ezekiel, we must press on! Don’t give up because you don’t see any evidence in the physical just yet.

God wants us to come boldly to the throne of Grace that we may obtain mercy and find help in time of need (Heb 4:16). Boldness in asking, boldness in waiting, boldness in persistence. 💪🏾 This boldness is tested and when we do not become weary, at the right time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up! (Gal 6:9).

We could logically ask why does God test our faith? Why does it seem like He makes us wait because we’re trusting in Him? The answer is that He wants us to grow stronger in faith and patience (James 1:3-4). The process of waiting and trusting in God is all part of the preparation process for the saints. There are troublesome times ahead such as the world has never seen before (Matt 24:21). God’s children will again suffer great persecution and will earnestly await Jesus’ 2nd coming.

• Abraham’s faith was tested again when God asked him to sacrifice Isaac in Gen 22. This testing was to check if Abraham was willing to sacrifice his most cherished gift for God or if he cherished his long sought son over obedience to God. We know from Heb 11:17-19 that Abraham had such strong faith that he believed that even if he sacrificed Isaac, God could raise that son from the dead.

• Job’s faith was also tested to see if he would blaspheme God in his trials having lost all his earthly blessings bar his life. But Job persevered in his faith and love for God, did not sin and did not blame God for the evils that plagued him. Instead, he said in Job 1:21: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” In the end, the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning (Job 42:12-17).

The trials we face in this life and the process of trusting in God are mini experiences to prepare and strengthen us for what’s coming ahead. We need to master the faith, waiting and trusting process now so that we’re ready for the real deal when it comes.

All God’s true children must go through the refiner’s fire, because if we are not disciplined by God then we are illegitimate and not really His children (Heb 12:8).

May God grant us all victory as we journey on through life. 🙏🏾