Daily Archive

Ephesians 1:3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has (past tense) blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

There is no act or performance that will get God to move on our behalf. Every promise has been made available by Jesus Christ. Our belief that Jesus made these promises available for us is the currency we need to obtain these promises.

Now that we know our faith obtains the promises of God, we have to ask ourselves, what’s our motivation to do the other spiritual things? What’s the point of fasting, praying, reading, confessing, or speaking in tongues? These things are all beneficial in their own way. They won’t get God to move, but they have the potential to move us towards a more mature relationship with God.

READING – How will we know what promises or rights have been made available to us by Jesus if we don’t know what they are? It’s important to read and agree with the Word of God regarding all of His promises He’s made for us.

PRAYING – Praying keeps us in constant communication with God. It’s not only talking to God, but allowing God to speak to us. In prayer, God can reveal some things about ourselves, reveal the wisdom we need to handle a situation, or bring ideas into our minds.

FASTING – We are spiritual beings, but we live in a fleshly body. The flesh is always an unwilling participant in the things of God. Fasting keeps our flesh in check. Fasting denies our flesh the right to rule and reign in our lives. When our flesh is subdued, fasting allows the Holy Spirit to be magnified.

CONFESSION – Confession is an active component with faith. Romans 10:9 says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Luke 6:45 says, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. If belief plus confession was necessary to receive salvation, belief plus confession is necessary to receive the other promises of God.

SPEAKING IN TONGUES – Speaking in tongues allows us to speak the wisdom of God, builds ourselves up, and keeps us in the love of God (1 Corinthians 2:1-12; 14:4, Jude 1:20, 21).

Our motivation for these spiritual exercises should not be to get God to do something. It should be to establish or deepen our relationship with God and improve in the areas where we need to be more reflective of Christ.