Go Back and Look Again

Have you been waiting for an answer to your prayer, and you’re wondering what’s causing the delay? Have you blamed others thinking they were being a hindrance to your deliverance? When your prayer was finally answered, did you discover that the solution was something you overlooked?

It’s easy to worry about how an answer to prayer will come instead of relying on God to guide us to a solution that we must work out ourselves.

What I am referring to are projects, ideas, businesses, or any area of your life that you may be working on. You may need to go back and look over every detail to ensure that instructions have been read thoroughly, every field in a form has been completed, and submission deadlines have been met, etc. Your answer may be in an area that you assumed is irrelevant or insignificant.

Don’t Give Up

There was a famine for three years in Samaria when Prophet Elijah was instructed by God to go and tell King Ahab that it was going to rain. The famine caused crops to fail, and the livestock were malnourished. After a challenge between Elijah and Ahab’s prophets regarding which God would answer by fire, Elijah heard …” a sound of abundance of rain” (I Kings 18:41).

Elijah and his servant went up to the top of Mount Carmel. After their arrival, Elijah sent his servant to look for rain (See I Kings 18:43). When he didn’t see anything, he returned to Elijah and informed him that … “There is nothing.” (I Kings 18:43). Elijah recognized that his servant didn’t have the level of faith he had in the spirit realm because of his lack of vision. Although he used his physical vision to ascertain what was going on in the atmosphere, he couldn’t envision the prophesied rain.

When you’ve suffered for a long time, sometimes it’s hard to imagine something different. You may have been going through financial, health, relationship, or other challenges with hope that everything would get better. However, as time went on, your faith and patience were tested.

Although there are promises in the Bible such as … ”I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” (Hebrews 13:5) or “every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life (Matthew 19:29), you haven’t seen any manifestations. You may have also prayed, believed, fasted, trusted, sowed a seed, and nothing has happened yet.

These acts of faith are beneficial. However, time is a factor that cannot be negated. Whether it’s been a day, month, season, or several years, time must play an intricate role in the development of your faith.

When Elijah told his servant to …“Go again, seven times” (I Kings 18:43), the instruction required his servant to remain compliant and pay attention to detail. I’m sure each time during his journey, his physical muscles were being conditioned which made him stronger for the next trip.

The distance may not have been far, but the instruction also required him to go up farther than they were. The seventh time he looked, he saw a little cloud coming out of the sea (see I Kings 18:44). Afterwards, the servant was instructed to … “Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down that the rain stop thee not. (I Kings 18:44).

I Kings 18:45 reveals … “And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.”

Believe, Listen, Look, and Receive

Romans 10:17 says … “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Whatever your dream, promise, or project is, listen for the abundance of your blessing making its arrival, look several times to make sure you didn’t overlook the answer to your problem despite its minute appearance, and make room for the massive size blessing after you have met these requirements.

Let Faith Run Your Belief Course, Not Fear