Already Answered

Yesterday, while out running errands, I heard quite clearly "All of your prayers are already answered."

Wow.

Why can't I remember this? That every promise of God is 'YES' in Him, that God has GLADLY given me the kingdom, that His works were finished from the foundation of the world. [2 Corinthians 1:20; Luke 12:32; Hebrews 4:3]

1 John 5:14,15 states conclusively that 'This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask ANYTHING according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we KNOW THAT WE HAVE the requests which we have asked from Him.'

I can either look at and believe the natural, temporal circumstances or I can look at the eternal Word of God.

'...while we look NOT at the things which are seen, but at the THINGS which are NOT SEEN; for the things which are seen are TEMPORAL [temporary], but the THINGS which are NOT SEEN are ETERNAL.' [2 Corinthians 4:18]

What would it look like if every prayer was already answered? Jesus said that ANYTHING we ask in His Name, He would give it to use. Then He repeated it for four chapters! [John 14-17] I guess He knew how dense we were going to be...

Jesus IS the Word, the Word IS God, and God IS eternal, both forward AND back! He IS the Alpha and Omega, and He IS His Word!

So if I am to look at the eternal, I am to look at His Word as fulfilled in my life, as well as on the world stage.

In His Word, I look pretty good. Filled up to all the fulness of God, healed, reigning in life, rich...the well-being of my sons is great and they are taught of the Lord. One Spirit with the Lord, seated with Him in heavenly places in Christ, with my youth renewed like the eagle. Speaking to mountains and trees that obey me immediately.

Hmmm....

So what's the catch?
Not enough looking at the unseen, too much looking at the train wreck.

Hebrews states it pretty plainly, talking about Israel in the wilderness...

'And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.

'Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the WORD they heard did NOT profit them, because IT WAS NOT UNITED BY FAITH IN THOSE WHO HEARD.' [Hebrews 3:18-4:2]

What was the eternal WORD they heard? That they were to go in and possess the land, that He had ALREADY given it to them and to their descendants. The already was the eternal part!

You know the story...if you don't, read it in Numbers 13,14. Twelve spies went in to reconnoiter the land. Ten came back with the evil report that there was no way they could take the land—why was it evil? Because is directly contradicted God's Word that they could take the land!

Two came back saying "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it." [Numbers 13:30]

Both groups saw the same land, but they were looking at two entirely different things! The ten looked at the SEEN...a great place filled with scary giants. The two looked at the UNSEEN...the promise of God that He had already given it to them!

So, according to His Word, the ten died in the wilderness, just as they had said, and the two, Joshua and Caleb, went on to take the land!

Why? Because they united the unseen, eternal Word of God with faith.

The faith that His Word is settled forever, forward AND back. That what is UNSEEN is eternal, everlasting, and that which is SEEN is merely temporary, subject to the UNSEEN.

Or in other words, for you card players out there, UNSEEN trumps SEEN!

Simply put, they believed God. They believed that what He said would come to pass, period.

And it did, for them. For those who did NOT unite His Word with faith, they wandered around in the wilderness for forty years, dying there according to THEIR word! [Numbers 14:2,28,29]

They looked at the SEEN and SPOKE accordingly. And they got just what they said.

Train Yourself
Start to train yourself to see the unseen. If God told us to look at the unseen, we must be able to!

See what your life looks like with every promise being 'Yes.' Close your eyes and look at the unseen in your life, in the lives of family members, your church/business/community/whatever.

For example, the Blessing of Abraham is a material blessing, and it is ours in Christ Jesus. [Galatians 3] We know that that blessing made Abraham very rich...what does that look like in your life?

Part of that blessing is that we will possess the gates of our enemies. What would that look like?

We know that by His stripes we were healed. [Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24] What does that look like in your life?

In the gospels, there are scriptures that say we will have whatever we say. What would that look like?

How about Psalm 112? It is an amazing description of the life of the righteous, and we have been made righteous in Christ. How would your life look if all of Psalm 112 were fulfilled in your life today?

AND IT IS! In the Spirit, it is ALREADY fulfilled, because you are IN Him, one Spirit with the LORD, and He IS the Word! Hallelujah!

Start to meditate on the Word as true, as fulfilled in your life. Look at the NOT SEEN, the eternal promises of God, the forever-settled Word and stop looking at the current, temporary SEEN circumstance.

'But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.' [James 1:25]

Praise the Lord!