Steering Wheel or Spare Tire?

Well I'm sure you all know of my respect for Corrie Ten Boom and it just so happens that a friend of mine recently gave me a greater incentive to dig into more Corrie Ten Boom quotes. He said that on facebook every time I post a Corrie quote he'll post a quote from a man that he looks up to. So, this morning as I was trying to decide what I wanted to post that Corrie has said I thought of this quote.

"Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?"

You see a steering wheel determines the course for the car. If the steering wheel turns right, the car will go right, if left, then left. The steering wheel causes the car to get to it's destination. The steering wheel is a necessity if the driver wants the car to follow a path.

A spare tire is placed in the trunk. What is interesting about the spare tire, is that it is never used until a dilemma presents itself. When a problem arises then we grab the spare tire. We can drive for miles and miles and miles before ever using the spare tire.

Which is your prayer life? Do you pray as if it is a necessity? Do you pray and allow the Holy Spirit to guide your life or is prayer something you turn to in desperation when things have gotten so bad that you see no other option?

I have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This relationship REQUIRES communication. I have to fellowship and spend time with Him in prayer and in His word so that I can know which directions to take in my life.

The fun thing about this relationship is that prayer is not something I HAVE to do, it's something I GET to do. Jesus tore the veil. He paid with His blood so that I could have open access to the Father. Prayer is a gift. The ability to enter into the throne room of God and speak to the Creator of the Universe is a privilege that was paid for with blood. The blood of the Holy One, Jesus Christ.

Prayer is something that is all too much neglected by Christians. We have so many promises for our prayers. Ask and you will receive, you have not because you ask not, etc. I am promised an answer to my prayers. As I come before the Father, He will answer. I'm not saying you'll always love His answer, but you will be answered.

God waits for us to come in to His throne room and make our requests known to Him. To ask Him the direction we should take, to ask for things we desire, to intercede on behalf of others, to simply be with Him, to spend time with God learning who He is and asking of our Daddy God.

Prayer must be a priority, it is a necessity, it is a privilege. Jesus paid with His life for your ability to have open communication anytime anywhere with our Father God, and He deserves what He paid for.

Be Blessed,
J. Tate

An old blog I wrote from an excerpt of Corrie Ten Boom's book "The Hiding Place"

http://jatate.blogspot.com/2009/12/necessity.html

Don't Lose Heart

The first week of school is OVER! Whew.

As a teacher/coach I was greatly looking forward to this week, because in all honestly I love the opportunity to educate kids, to motivate kids, and to try and be a positive role model for their lives. Everyday my life will be on center stage for over 300 kids.

Ad much as I was looking forward to this week, I'm going to be honest, it was ROUGH. A lot of things went wrong or were difficult and all of it began to take a toll on me as the week went on. No matter what goes on day to day I've learned that the Word says to HAVE JOY, take joy when you fall into various trials, in the presence of God is fullness of JOY, the fruits of the Spirit are love, JOY, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control... and as much as I need to remember these things for myself, I need to remember them because I have tons of little eyes watching me, evaluating me, trying to figure out who I am.

Tired and frustrated I know my attitude began to decline toward the end of the week. Then the Holy Spirit began to get a hold of me!

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:3)

As I read this scripture, it was like the breath was taken out of me. Jesus Christ, my best friend, and Savior... suffered for me. He endured hostility when He didn't deserve it. He took a beating He didn't deserve, He took mocking He didn't deserve, He died at the hands of mere men when He is a King... All Jesus would have had to do was speak a Word and He could have stopped the beatings, proved to them His deity, climbed off the cross, and gone on back to heaven in His perfection, BUT He stayed, He endured, for me.

He is the ultimate picture of self-sacrifice, obedience, endurance, and love. If He was able to do all that for me, I must not grow weary or lose heart in the journey that is supposed to be for Him. This life that I live is not for me, but for Him. We have a purpose, we have assignments, and we are supposed to be advancing His kingdom so that His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

When I truly consider what Christ did there is no room for me to be weary or to lose heart. He endured much more than I will ever imagine. So rather than sulk in the exhaustion and frustration, I went to the Word for some encouragement. (I needed some encouragement after the slap from the Holy Spirit LOL) So if you're there and just needing some strength, read through these scriptures, print them, post them, say them, heed them....
Be Blessed,
J. Tate

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. (Gal. 6:9)

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary,and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. (Ps. 28:7)

The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace. (Ps. 29:11)

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Ps. 73:26)

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

The name of the LORD is a strong tower ; The righteous runs into it and is safe. (Prov. 18:10)

Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. (John 14:27)

Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. (Ps. 55:22)

Pride, Condemnation, and Examination

Many Christians struggle with the issue of pride. Whether you struggle with pride because you walk around thinking you've got this thing figured out or you struggle with pride because you're walking around in condemnation. Living in condemnation is still a derivative of pride because in order to be condemned you much think that grace is based off of your actions rather than who God is and what Christ did.

Let's look at a few scriptures.
To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. (Prov. 8:13)
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. (Prov. 3:7)
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15,16)
For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. (Romans 5:18)

God absolutely hates pride, but at the same time Christ's blood paid for us to not live in condemnation of our sin. Is there a balance?

The answer is found in this passage. Romans 5:
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

While I was still a sinner, Christ died for me, and justified me through His blood... and now we exult God for sending His son that paid for our reconciliation.

In other words there is no room for pride because CHRIST DIED FOR ME KNOWING THAT I WAS A SINNER... I didn't achieve some "Holy" status that made it possible for me to earn forgiveness. Where I was, where I am, and where I will be Christ died for me. He shed His blood which purchased redemption, salvation, reconciliation, and so much more for me.

Also, BECAUSE CHRIST'S BLOOD bought redemption, salvation, and reconciliation for me I don't have a right to live in condemnation. As Romans 8:1 says there is NO CONDEMNATION for those who are in Christ Jesus. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life and you have been transformed from a slave into a child of God then your sin has been paid for. Living in self condemnation is a lack of faith in what Christ has already accomplished for you.

I cannot be in pride because I didn't earn my justification, but I can't live in condemnation because I HAVE BEEN justified.

The final step is examination.
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Cor. 13:5)

We need to examine ourselves to see if we are in faith. Do we not know that Christ is inside of us???
Faith in the fact that Christ is on the inside of me does not allow pride or condemnation!

We are challenged to examine ourselves to see if we are in faith... not so that we can have pride and not so that we'll be condemned, but rather so that we will continue to grow in faith in who God is, what Christ has done, and who we are to be, with the Holy Spirit's help.

Be Blessed,
J. Tate

Some Radical Thoughts: Persecution Day 2

I'm going to go a little out of chronological order today and discuss a topic that was on my mind this morning.

Yesterday I explained that after reading through Acts I noticed many things different from the believers of the early church and us today. There were thought patterns, mindsets, and lifestyle differences that they had that we don't and I firmly believe that we need them. We need to change in order to see God's kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven in the power that the early church saw it.

Today I'm going to talk about persecution. I cannot speak for those of you reading, but I can speak for myself. I don't like persecution. Who does? There are many times that I am persecuted verbally for what I believe and I always leave those conversations a little discouraged and disheartened. I don't believe that the early church "enjoyed" persecution, but they certainly were not afraid of it. Persecution did not hinder them from continuing to be bold witnesses of the gospel. Let's go to the Word.

Acts 4:13
"Now as they observed the CONFIDENCE of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus."

Peter and John had just been put in jail for preaching the gospel (you can see how early on the persecution started). When questioned and threatened without hesitation and full of the Holy Spirit, Peter just spoke the truth of Jesus. And I use verse 13 because I love the end of the verse... I hope that when people look at me they will recognize that I've been with Jesus :)

Acts 5
In Acts 5 we see ole' Peter once again in front of the council. Told not to preach the gospel, He boldly says to them, "We must obey God rather than men" (v.29) They were flogged (beaten) and told not to preach the gospel.

v. 41,42 "So they went on their way from the presence of the Council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer shame for His name. And every day in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

Not only were they persecuted and warned, but they left rejoicing!!! And they kept right on preaching Jesus.

We live in a country where the worst persecution (at this time) that will befall most of us is simple verbal abuse and yet we often allow this to keep us from opening our mouths.
Acts 8:35 Then Phillip OPENED HIS MOUTH, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.

In Acts 8 Phillip opened his mouth and spoke the truth of Jesus Christ and an Ethiopian was converted. We have been called to be witnesses throughout the world, but especially in those we are daily around. We are suppose to open our mouths and speak the truth of who Jesus Christ is, but all to often fear of rejection, mistreatment, embarrassment, keeps us from fulfilling our purpose. I'm in awe of what the early church went through and yet continued to boldly witness.

We have been given the same Holy Spirit, the same truth, we know the same Jesus, what is stopping us?

Here's the last piece of scripture I'll use, but it's one that really hits home with me.
Acts 14:19,20
And Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. But while the disciples stood around him he got up and entered the city.

Paul was in Lystra ministering the gospel, Jews came and stoned him what they thought was to death, so obviously Paul was pretty badly beat up. However, he got up. Now check this out.

V.21 After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch.

Paul was stoned nearly to death, persecuted harshly, and yet he arose off the ground and returned to the exact places to the people who had tried to kill him.

Paul knew the heart of God. The heart of God was for people to be saved, so that He can spend eternity with His children.

I won't tell the whole story again because i've shared it so many times, but the story of the two young Moravians that sold themselves into slavery and as they're leaving for a lifetime of slavery so that some people will hear the gospel they cry out
"May the lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering"

These disciples, the moravians, are they radicals? Are they extremists? They simply understand the heart of their Father and are willing to give their lives away in order to see people come to know our God.

Oh Lord, help me to die to myself.
Be Blessed,
J. Tate

Some Radical Thoughts Day 1

I have been reading through Acts over the past week.

Acts is the accounts of the apostles. It is written historical documentation of actual events that took place during the time that the early church began. As I've been reading through Acts what I've found are actions, thought patterns, mindsets, lifestyles, that if we truly lived them out today, we would be considered radical extremists. How sad that we find that, we the church no longer live even close to the standard that was set by those who were trusted to START THE CHURCH. Jesus called Peter the rock on which He would build the church and that the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18). Many of the things I will talk about involve Peter. So what does this tell me?

Jesus called Peter to be the rock on which the church would be started. Acts documents what was done by this early church. A + B = ? To me it equals that we the church now should be modeled off of the Acts church. I'm not talking about we the church as in 4 walls with a roof. I'm talking about me as an individual and along with other Christians should be living in this "radical" way of living. It's scary to me to think that if we stepped out and began to live as they lived in Acts, the church of today would probably cast us out. Let's take a journey through the Word.

We'll start with one specific passage.
Acts 2:38-47
38Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39“For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” 40And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation!” 41So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. 42They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
43Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. 46Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

First we see Peter with an extreme boldness to witness and speak the truth of Jesus Christ. How long has it been since you've used extreme boldness? The truth is Peter didn't know what persecution was about to come from what he was saying. He wasn't inside a church building. Peter proclaimed without hesitation the truth of Jesus Christ.

Next we see direct result... "added about three thousand souls" ... How long has it been that your boldness led to people being saved. I'm not talking about getting someone to sit in a church pew. I'm talking about a radical boldness that proclaimed Jesus Christ and led to salvations? The Holy Spirit does His work, He is the convictor of the hearts of men, but we have to open our mouths and speak the truth for them to hear and be convicted!

I could go on about verse 42, but I'll allow you to read that and examine your own life as I must do as well, but I will say it sounds like the early church found it important to be TOGETHER and hear the Word TOGETHER and to pray TOGETHER.

Verse 43. Why were they feeling a sense of Awe??? The apostles were led by and full of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit led them to do the same things that Jesus did as He walked on the earth. These mere men were simply believers and God used them to heal the sick, cast out demons, perform signs and wonders, lead people to the cross of Christ, and begin a RADICAL movement of showing the world who God is.

Verse 45. I'm sure you're thinking oh please don't go there!!! But that's right. The early church talked about money. ouch. They discussed who had need and they gave unselfishly of themselves to make sure that everyone's needs were met. This was not just the leaders, it wasn't just the followers, it wasn't just the apostles, and it wasn't just the pew setters. I hardly see this at all in our body today. Those who have need are to ashamed to admit it and those who have abundance are too selfish to share it.

46 & 47. The body was in unity. There wasn't strife and division or argument and tension and debate didn't split them apart. They were in unity with love for each other and Jesus Christ. And we see the result in verse 47. They praised God, they had favor, and many began to be saved.

Verse 47 is true because verses 38-46 took place. I know that Christians want to see salvations, but unfortunately they want to see them without the discomfort or sacrifice in verses 38-46. We've lost our boldness, we choose not to use our authority that Christ gave, and we don't live sacrificing self.

I write this because as I read Acts I am more convinced than ever of changes that need to take place in my own life so that I can be the contributor to the body of Christ that I am called to be. My prayer is that a few of you will share my thoughts.

The plan was for this to only be one blog, but we're only one passage in and there's so much more to go. Keep checking back.

Be Blessed,
J. Tate

A Living Word Convicts

One of my most favorite part of everyday is waking up to read the Word of God.

Right now I'm going through the New Testament in 90 days. I thoroughly enjoy digging deeper into the Word and challenging myself to learn more, read more, and get more out of the Word daily. I'm often finding new Bible reading plans to commit to such as reading through the whole Bible faster, or the New Testament, or the gospels, or the prophets, anything for a new challenge to get more Word in me quicker. I enjoy taking words and looking them up in the Hebrew and Greek to find out some more revelation on what exactly God was saying in each verse. Anyway you get the point, I am a student of the Word and I love my studies.

One of the greatest things about the Word of God is that it is alive. It is a living Word. Though it was written many years ago it has the power to impact and change lives today. It is amazing how the Word will speak truth to your current situation in life.

As you know I have been studying faith. I've continued to press in on my faith workbook, looking through every scripture I can possibly find on faith, and continually asking God to teach me more about the subject of faith. As I stated in a previous blog Hebrews 11:6 has impressed me to the core of my being. It says that without faith it is impossible to please Him and the cry of my heart is to be pleasing to my Father.

Today in my personal reading time I read a scripture that has caught my attention before. It's a scripture that my Pastor has often mentioned or talked about and it is a scripture that today the Holy Spirit used to convict me.

Romans 14;23- But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

WHATEVER DOES NOT PROCEED FROM FAITH IS SIN.

When I read scriptures like this and it convicts me to the core of my being, it is then that I have to remind myself of what I wrote in the first 3 paragraphs. I love the Word. I love the Word. I love the Word. The Word is good. The Word is Good. The Word is alive, I need this Word. This is for me RIGHT NOW.

Have you ever read something in the Word and the Holy Spirit began to move on the inside of you saying YOU NEED THIS, YOU NEED TO GET THIS, YOU NEED TO FIX THIS!! and your first reaction is just keep reading, just keep reading LOL. (Am I the only one who does this?)

I know that I am studying faith and I know that I promised that I was going to intensely study faith for the next 9 months, but here is a new level. This is a standard that seems WAY HIGH. Anything that does not come from faith is sin. That means every action I take, every word that pops it's way out of my mouth, if it's not said in faith.... I'm sinning.

As I previously stated, this is not the first time I've heard this, but the Holy Spirit spoke to me today, Jessika if you're going to study faith, you're going to study all of it.

If I'm claiming that I want to be a woman of faith, faith that pleases my Daddy God, then I'm going to have to learn to do all things in faith.... if not, it's sin.

Every word that comes out of my mouth must be spoken with the assurance that God is who He says He is, He'll do what He says He'll do, and I can do what He says I can do. Every action must line up with the Word believing that He is.

I am a work in progress, but PRAISE GOD, He who began a good work in me WILL see it through to completion and THANK GOD, that the Word is alive and speaks to me where I am.

Be Blessed, Be challenged,
J. Tate

Revelation of Muscle/Mouth Memory

Today during volleyball practice the Holy Spirit began to show me some things.

As an athlete you develop certain motions or actions into muscle memory. For instance, if you threw a ball at me I wouldn't flinch, I wouldn't have to think about it, I'd simply and easily raise my hands and catch the ball.

As our incoming 7th graders enter into our volleyball program and we begin to teach them how to serve the ball over the net we make them serve EVERYDAY and continually remind them the more they do the motion, soon it will become muscle memory. They have to take something their body has never done before and teach it to become the natural, first response.

We all have certain things that we have trained our muscles to do naturally that at one point weren't natural. When you are driving a car and the light turns yellow, you don't have to pause and think, okay now I need to move my foot over to the brake, your body does it by muscle memory. Your body has been trained that when you see the yellow light, it's time to slow down to come to a stop, and your foot needs to move to the brake and stop.

Young athletes have to start out constantly repeating the correct steps in order to serve efficiently and one day they will be able to do it without much thought.

As I was watching varsity practice, I corrected one of our passers on their form, and the Holy Spirit began to speak to me.
Just as we as athletes or people put things into muscle memory, we need to develop not only a muscle memory but also a mouth memory.

I was a defensive specialist in high school, in other words one of the better passers. I can watch an athlete pass a ball and immediately know what was done right or wrong, because passing has become second nature to me. I've done it enough times that my body knows just how to react when a serve is coming at me.

In life many circumstances will arise and we'll have many choices for how to react to it. We need to be in our Word to know exactly how to react when situations arise. We need to not only develop a muscle memory of what to do but also a mouth memory of how and what to say when things come at us.

The Bible is clear that no matter what circumstances come at us we are to praise God.
We are to praise when we have received from the Lord. (Luke17:15-16).
We should rejoice even if things aren't going our way and began to declare God's goodness in spite of what we see or feel. (Habakkuk 3:17-19) (Ps. 42:5) (many more)

We should also remind God of the promises He has given us (Isaiah 43:26). Take scripture and tell Him that He is our protector, our hope, our shield, our present help in times of need.

As circumstances come if we continue to train ourself we can have mouth memory. When the enemy comes in like a roaring lion and comes to steal, kill, or destroy from me, I'm not supposed to mourn and weep, become bitter, or lose faith, but rather be trained to have a mouth memory that begins to declare the Word of God.

What does your muscle memory tell you to do when hard things come our way? What does your mouth memory tell you to do?

Just like my body knows how to pass a volleyball so can my mind, body, and mouth learn to line up with the Word of God in any and all situations. Occasionally I step out on the volleyball court and for one reason or another I mess up. I do something different than what I've been trained to do, but the more I train and the more I fight, the easier it becomes.

I want my actions and mouth to line up with the Word of God in any and all situations, wether it be times of success, failure, hard time, easy time, disappointing circumstances, or exciting moments... in all times praise God and speak the Word.

Be Blessed,
J. Tate

Faith vs. Hope

As I wrote about in my last blog I am doing an in depth study of faith.

I am learning so much and seeing where my mentor truly knew how badly I needed to go more in depth on my understanding of faith.
I go to a full gospel, non-denominational church, where faith is talked about almost every Sunday and yet so many things taught have not "clicked". I know that many of my readers go to a similar church and many or I might even say most are from a denominational church, such as the Baptist church. I'm so thankful that yal' continue to read my posts even if their are slight disagreements occasionally.

I've always thought I had faith, even strong faith. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God without a doubt in my mind, I believe He died for my sins and resurrected on the third day, and I believe He is coming again. You couldn't talk me out of this belief if I tried, but there is so much more to faith.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. Faith is knowing that God is who He says He is, He'll do what He says He'll do, He did what He said He did.

During this time of study on faith I'm using a few aids along with the Word such as a Faith study course. Today I was reading about the difference in faith and hope.

You see Mark 11:24 says that whatsoever you ask for BELIEVE you receive them and you will have them. Isn't that what faith is? It's asking for something and truly believing that we will receive it before we even have evidence of having them!

I think we've made something negative out of asking God for things and I hope that you all reading know me well enough to know my heart about "things" "mammon" etc. We can ask God for things and it not be a negative thing. We can even ask God for "non-spiritual" things and it be okay. He is Daddy God and He listens to us and knows our hearts.

What I see in Mark 11:24 is that I have to believe I receive it, before I receive it. That is faith. Believing in the unseen. Whether what I asked for was joy, peace, salvation for someone, a bike, an answer, a boat, wisdom, healing, etc... (I use diverse petitions on purpose)

But how many times do I ask and hope for rather than ask and believe I receive? There is a difference between faith and hope. Christ in me the hope of glory, I have a Blessed hope that Jesus Christ will return one day. Hope is believing that something will happen in the future, faith if you notice, is now.

Faith must believe before it receives... you don't need faith for something you already have.

We need to begin to examine ourselves to see if we are in faith as 2 Cor. says. When I come boldly into the throne room of grace ask according to the Word and will of God do I ask in faith, believing I receive?

I think that many times we hope rather than have faith because we can't believe for something we're not sure we have. I don't think this is a lack of "faith" necessarily, I think we question what God's will for our lives is and then we doubt we will receive what we ask. This comes from a pure heart of truly wanting what God wants for our lives, but in order to receive we need to know what the Word says God will do, who He is, what He wants for us, and then we could ask in faith.

Perhaps more on this later,
Be Blessed,
J. Tate