The Many Faces of Fear: Doubt (Fearless Faith pt5)

Doubt
     This is a particularly dangerous type of fear because it has the ability to sabotage our prayer life. It sneaks in while we are praying and instead of knowing God will do something we only hope he will. A fearless prayer is much more effective than one stricken with doubt. If we pray with a mind full of doubt it is almost like saying we don't truly believe that God will answer our prayer.
     I'm not saying that praying when in doubt is pointless because God grants us grace in this situation but it does seems to make our answers come more slowly than if we fully believed. At least that's the way it has been in my experience.
     If we let it take control it even makes us miserable because when we've given fully into doubt we actually believe that the thing we want to happen won't and that is exactly what doubt is. The fear that something you want to happen won't or even simpler the fear that something won't happen.

Matthew 14:29-31
²⁹ So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

     As we see from Peter's experience it only takes one stray thought to begin to sink in our own sea of doubt. Peter began to listen to the wind and waves instead of what was truly important. If we can keep our eyes on Jesus and ignore what we think is law than nothing will be impossible for us. We all know that with God all things are possible so lets put that to the test.

Matthew 21:21
So Jesus answered and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ it will be done.

Mark 11:23
For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

Mark 9:23
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.”

     If we believe undoubtedly, nothing will be impossible for us. A truly fearless prayer will yield results. Sometimes we don't see those results right away but it will always yield results. It can be tough to overcome but I believe that once we do we will bare witness to many wondrous miracles. It's just like Jesus said. All things are possible to him who believes.

James 1:5-8
⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

     Wisdom is one of the best things to pray for and by far the easiest to believe for. I've had many situations in which I needed some spiritual guidance and so I asked God. He will always be faithful to answer you when you need guidance. It's much easier to believe something when you know it's God's will for your life.

1 Timothy 2:8
 ⁸ I desire therefore that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting;

     God wants us to be doubt free. Also we should pray about everything. It shouldn't matter where we are or who is around us. When we see a need or need some guidance about an issue we should pray. As Christians we have a bad habit of telling people we will pray for them but then going about our business and most of the time we never do. It's time we all got out of our comfort zones and started waking in faith as God would have us do.
     When you say something believe it. When you pray for something know that it's going to happen. Expect the miracle. Don't deny God's power in your life by allowing your faith to waiver. Just know that everything will work together for your good.

The Many Faces of Fear: Worry (Fearless Faith pt4)

Worry
     Up until a few weeks ago I would have told you that this is the biggest fear of all because it has the ability to cloud our minds. A clouded mind makes it hard for us to hear God's still small voice because of the voices in your head screaming. To put it simplest I would say that worry is the fear of what may or may not happen. 
     This fear in particular has the ability to hinder us. For instance if you're worried that you won't get a report done on time it will take you longer to get it done. I used to do that all the time. I still do when I'm not paying attention. I'll concern myself with something so I put off doing it. My last blog for example. I was worried about getting it done the way I wanted it done instead of stepping back and looking for a moment and seeing that it was never going to work that way to begin with. Not to mention that the way I am doing it now is much easier and probably better in the long run for those that will read it.
      It's also easy to overlook when you aren't searching yourself and consistently trying to root out fear in your life. I never realized how much of a worry wart I was until God pointed it out to me. I had thought that I was a pretty worry free guy because I had seen how other people worrying made them so miserable. Once God opened my eyes and I stopped allowing myself to worry about things it was amazing. I could hear God clearly, I felt at peace, and I actually got things done faster. Even if I didn't get something done (which only happened once) it wasn't as big of a deal because I wasn't stressed at all. Not only that but in the long run it wasn't that big of a deal anyway.

Matthew 6:25-34

²⁵ “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Luke 12:22-34

²² Then He said to His disciples, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? ²⁵ And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? ²⁶ If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? ²⁷ Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸ If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith?
²⁹ “And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. ³⁰ For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹ But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.
³² “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

     This is my absolute favorite thing to use when talking about worry:

Excerpt from Baz Luhrmann's Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday.

     The point here is that worrying is pointless. There is nothing you can solve by worrying. There are many situations in which we worry. Some of which we can do something such as get to work instead of worrying about deadlines. Others we can do nothing. Our lives will be much more peaceful if we can conquer this fear. This one in particular brings a lot of torment. Instead of worrying in cases where we can't do anything just pray and leave it in God's hands. Trust that he will do what's best in the situation and leave it at that.