"For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (2Cor1:20)
"Therefore having these promises; beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" ( 2Cor.7:1)
God is true and every promise of God is true; and each must have its due fulfillment to those who believe in Christ Jesus. So you can count on the promises of God in the Bible to be trustworthy. God has "given us great and precious promises"(2Peter1:4) recorded in the Scriptures. Search out for them by studying the Bible and don't be slothful in claiming them.
Some Christians do not believe that God's promises apply to them; so they live without recourse to His promises and end up, void of His blessings. Others believe that the promises of God will be fulfilled on their own without any input from the recipient; to them, it's a matter of waiting.
A careful study of the Bible revealed that certain attitudes will help us activate the promises of God for our lives. We saw these attitudes playing out in the life of Abraham as recorded in Romans 4:20 and 21
" He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. And being fully persuaded that what he promised, he was able also to perform"
From the passage above, Abraham possessed the following attitudes:
1. Faith
Faith is essential in activating the promises of God for our lives. Saints of old did exploits through the instrumentality of faith.
"Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouth of lions" (Hebrew 11:33)
Thus we need faith to claim the promises of God "But without faith, it is impossible to please him" (Hebrew 11:6A)
Abraham did not doubt the promise of God but was fully persuaded that what God had promised, He was able to perform.
Believe in the ability of God to accomplish His promises.
2.Confession of Faith
Say God's words back to Him in prayers. We have confidence that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us(1John5:14). Your confession must line up with God's will. However, you still need patience as you rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him.
3.Take Action
We need to put action to faith. Most of the promises in the Scriptures are conditional with the clause, "if" or "then" Let ensure we cross-check the conditions governing the promises and take action to implement them.
4. Sound Spiritual State
Moreover, we need to maintain a good spiritual state that will guarantee God's presence with us.
"Having, therefore, these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2Corinthians7:1)
From the verse above, we are told to clean up the mess in our flesh which has to do with outward sins like sexual immorality, drunkenness, corruption, telling lies, etc, and also in our spirit for the promises of God to come to reality. The holiness of life is the expressway to receiving divine attention.
Before God could activate His promises to Abraham, He had to reiterate His stand on holy living
"I am the Almighty God; walk before me and be thou perfect. And I will make my covenant between me and thee and will multiply thee exceedingly" (Genesis 17:1B and 2)
5.The Weapon of Prayer
After we have met the above requirements, we then employ the weapon of prayers to translate the promises of God into reality.
Someone has said that the promises of God are like raw potato which needed to be cooked before eating. Accordingly, the promises of God need to be cooked in the furnace of prayers before they can be consumed as blessings.
We need to pray earnestly to possess the promise of God. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16B)
Remember to give thanks, glory, and honor to God even when you are still expecting the blessings.
The promises of God are highly reliable. You can trust and rely on God to keep His promises. He watches over His promise to fulfill it. You can certainly count on Him. However, you need to play your part as discussed. God bless you.
