In the Weymouth New Testament, which is available from KCM, the Word says, “What good is it, my brethren, if a man professes to have faith, and yet his actions do not correspond? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother and a sister are poorly clad or lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Fare you well; keep yourselves warm and well fed,’ and yet you do not supply their bodily needs; what is the use of that? So also faith, if it is unaccompanied by obedience, is dead in itself. Nay, some one will say, ‘You have faith, I have actions: prove to me your faith apart from corresponding actions and I will prove mine to you by my actions” (James 2:14-18).

Here’s the point: When you pray in faith, believing you receive the promise of God in His Word and being expectant for Him to answer your prayer, move forward with corresponding action: Prepare to receive God’s promise that you prayed! Faith prepares ahead of time for what it believes will happen.

Faith Prepares Ahead of Time

When Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee with His disciples, it was evening. He had been preaching and teaching all day long to people who were eager to listen to Him. When they arrived at the other side, as soon as He stepped out of the boat, Mark 5:2 says, “A man possessed by an evil spirit came out from the tombs to meet him…. Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones” (Mark 5:2, 5). After Jesus cast the demon out of the man, he got back into the boat and crossed the Sea of Galilee once again.

This time, when he stepped out of the boat, a man named Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come and heal his daughter, who was dying. On the way to heal the little girl, a woman who had suffered with an issue of blood many years, interrupted his journey. The woman said, “If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed” (Mark 5:28). In the account, the woman did touch the hem of his robe, and she was healed! By the time Jesus finished speaking with her, Jairus was told by a messenger from his home that it’s too late, his daughter was dead. But Jesus said, “The child isn’t dead; she’s only asleep” (Mark 5:39).

If you’ve ever read this series of miracles, then you know how the story of Jairus’ daughter ends. Jesus went to Jairus’ house, and when He saw the girl, He took her by the hand and said, “Little girl, get up!” She “immediately stood up and walked around!” (Mark 5:41-42).

How did Jesus do all this in a matter of a day? How did He have it in Him to preach all day, and then perform not one, not two, but three miracles – and one that involved raising the dead?

The answer is because He depended on His Father, and He prepared ahead of time! That’s what faith does. Jesus said two things that show us He depended on His Father and prepared in advance to do the work God sent Him to do:

First: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished” (John 5:19-20).

Second: “I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say” (John 12:49-50).

Jesus prepared ahead of time by spending time with His heavenly Father. He prepared ahead of time for what He knew would happen.

This is what we’re to do. We’re to spend time with God, in His Word, and in prayer, to build our faith to prepare to receive what it is we’re believing for, because Faith Prepares To Receive the Promise.

Faith Prepares for What It Believes

Everything in the Bible was done and received by faith. Every person Jesus healed, delivered and set free was healed, delivered and set free by faith. By faith, the demon-possessed man was freed. By faith, the woman with the issue of blood was healed. By faith, Jairus’ daughter was healed.

Faith depends on the Word of God alone to work – and it prepares ahead of time for what it believes will happen. What is it that God has for you? What has He put in your heart to receive?

This week’s BVOV broadcast is an outstanding opportunity to encourage your faith. Pastors George and Terri Pearsons will be showing segments of messages from the 2024 Southwest Believers’ Convention that was held in Fort Worth, July 29-Aug. 3. You can view these sessions here. But before you do, take some time to prepare your faith to receive from God. Spend time in the Word – reading, studying, meditating on it and listening to it preached. Romans 10:17 tells us, “So faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” Stir up the faith inside you, because Faith Prepares To Receive the Promise.

Faith Prepares for What It Expects

The Oxford Dictionary tells us that hope is the “feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.” Hope is the blueprint of faith. It paints a picture inside us of what we need or want, and what we’re to be expecting. With that hope before us, we feed our faith and use it like a tool to receive what we’re believing for. Then, we release our faith by speaking God’s Word that promises us what we’re believing for. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.”

What are you believing God for? Make a list before you start watching the BVOV broadcasts. Make a list of your financial, physical, emotional, health, relational or spiritual needs, and whatever else you’ve been praying and believing for God to answer.

As you make your list and prepare your spirit and soul to receive, remember this: James tells us that faith without works – or corresponding action – is dead (James 2:20). So, find one or more covenant words and promises from God’s Word that apply to your situation and write them next to your need. For example, if you’re believing for healing and, specifically, if you are believing God to have a child, you could write Exodus 23:25-26: “You must serve only the LORD your God. If you do, I will bless you with food and water, and I will protect you from illness. There will be no miscarriages or infertility in your land, and I will give you long, full lives.”

The more specific you are in your faith – your believing – the more specifically God can answer your prayers.

If you’re believing for financial breakthrough, release your faith to live debt free. You can use the following verse to write a confession: “Owe nothing to anyone – except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbour, you will fulfil the requirements of God’s law” (Romans 13:8). Your confession could easily be: “Lord, thank You that I owe nothing to anyone but love. Thank You that because you so greatly love me, I can love everyone I meet today with Your love.”

If you’re believing for a relationship to be restored – with your spouse, child, a relative, friend or colleague – find a verse or verses to write, pray and confess the promise of God so you can release your faith…because Faith Prepares To Receive the Promise.

Faith Prepares for the Victory

Part of receiving by faith is thanking God for the answer before you see it in this natural realm. It’s praising God that what you’ve prayed, hoped and believed Him for is coming to pass. It’s worshipping Him for the answer – for your healing, your provision that’s coming, the breakthrough that will happen, for the child who will be set free or the lost who will be saved – before you see it. Faith counts it already done.

Mark 11:22-25 is a foundational passage of Scripture and a fundamental of faith: “Then Jesus said to the disciples, ‘Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, “May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,” and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.’”

When you have your prayer list and God’s promises to stand on for each prayer request, then pray using the promises of God. Release your faith by speaking what He promised – because faith depends on the Word to work. Then start praising God that the victory is yours, that what you’ve declared by faith is already done. God is faithful, and He will do what He has promised. He will respond to your faith. He will always respond to His Word. He will honour your keeping “the switch of faith” turned on, because faith pleases Him (Hebrews 11:6). He will honour you when your Faith Prepares To Receive the Promise.

Watch all of the 2024 Southwest Believers’ Convention sessions HERE.

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