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You Get to Decide

by Chas Stevenson

Why hasn't my prayer been answered?  I thought I had faith.  I think I had faith.  I shot all my prayers up to heaven as best I could, I prayed every angle of every situation, and now I'm waiting on God.

We wait.  God waits.  And still no answer seems to come.  One reason is that we haven't made a firm decision on what is to happen.  Faith and hope, the prayer partners, work off of a decision.  Really, that's what hope is all about - a determined, expected end - a decision.  Heaven waits for our earth decision.  Our God-given earth dominion requires that we decide on and initiate things.  Of course, we yield our plans to God, we look to Him for His divine will, and we make our requests according to that will.  But in the prayer request department, a single-minded, unwavering, decision is what God needs before He can answer us.  Shooting multitudes of possibilities up to God, praying all the angles of a situation, listing out plan A plus backup plans B through Z in hopes that one will stick, is not what the prayer of faith looks like.  Rather, that type of praying is what the wavering, double-minded man of James Ch 1 looks like - unstable and tossed around.  "Do not let that man think that he shall receive anything from the Lord."

Clearly, throughout Scripture, God emphasizes the importance of our desire, our will, and our specific request when praying.

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (John 15:7)  It is important what ye want to happen.

"What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (Mark 11:24)  "Ye desire" is right there.  Of course, again, our desire must line up with God's Word and His will.  We don't want to be frivolous and childish in preparing some ridiculous list of material goods.  But desiring and deciding is still a key component of prayer.  Being "dead-set" and "stubborn" are not bad words when it comes to the prayer of faith.  In no way is this to be a disrespectful attitude toward God, where He becomes our "bell-hop" or errand boy through life.  Rather, it is part of understanding how sincere God was when He handed the dominion of earth life over to mankind. 

The "you get to decide" factor is how business start-ups succeed.  This is how ministry callings are fulfilled.  This is how marriages are made and kept.  Making a decision and sticking to it is the only way to succeed at anything in life.  If there is a hint of quit, or the door of "what if it doesn't work" is left open, then it's too easy to "cop out" at the first sign of difficulty.  It is the same with getting miracles to happen.  Until you decide for certain to live and not die, until you decide to be healed by God's power through the cross of Christ, until you decide God's Covenant is all you need, God and His heavenly host waits.  God is saying "what do you want?  What is your decision?" 

So what is your answer?  It's time to make a determined decision, stick to it, stand on the Scriptures, and leave no room for any other out.  It was good for Moses to hit the edge of the Red Sea.  He only had one decision to make - trust God, and only one step to take - the step of faith into the water.  And it's good for us when we decide that the Bible is true and will work for us when we need it to.  There is to be no other option: God will do what He said.  Our miracle depends on how decisive we are about it.  Will God do what He said He would do?  Will what is written in the Bible come to pass for you?  Will what God has spoken absolutely happen?  Can you say with all certainty to yourself and to others with a smile on your face, "My God will answer.  Just watch and see."? 

Is that how you feel about it?  Is that your final answer?  Okay then.  It will be done.

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