Faith, Fear and Doubt

"6Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”  7And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.  8So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God."                 Acts 3:6-8  NKJV

We see people begging wherever we go and many times we think of them for a split second and we walk by. We may be tempted to give them some money or pay for a meal but that's about it. When my wife and I were pastoring, under the church we ran a drop in centre where men and women could freely come and go, get a free meal and a cup of tea, some clothes and see the love of Jesus in action. We learned to pick out the genuine ones - the one's really down on their luck and desperate for help, but we helped them all.

This day, Peter and John were on their way to the hour of prayer when a man asked them for alms - charity for his needs. Peter fixed his eyes on him and was almost looking into his soul to see if he was genuine. He then said that they could give him no money but, lifted him up in the name of Jesus Christ and he was healed. Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, knew that this man had been lame all of his life but today, he would be changed.

  Some have said they wondered if for a moment Peter was thinking, 'I hope this works. We'll look fools if it doesn't.' There was not a chance that Peter was thinking that. If he had have been, this would have been fear and doubt and there would have been no healing that day. No, both Peter and John - men of faith, knew that he would be healed. And this is the difference with us. Be honest, have you never felt doubt this way when you prayed for healing with someone? There must have been at least one time. I was in a service years ago when a visiting evangelist gave an altar call. From the front he said, 'I want you to know that no-one has ever been healed through my ministry'. I could not believe what he was saying, in fact, I was shocked. I thought that with an attitude like that no one will ever be healed.

  Oral Roberts once said, 'Believe and receive, doubt and do without.' Is this the reason why we don't witness many healings in this day? Is it because the prayers are just empty words with no faith in them? There has got to be a reason. Jesus said, 'they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.' Mark 16:18. Jesus didn't lie, so what He said must be true. In actual fact, faith-believing prayer should be used every time we pray. Once the church grasps hold of that fact, you will have to go to church early to get a seat. 

Seek God and ask Him to rekindle the fire that was placed in you when you were born again. Then go out and at every opportunity, pray for those who need 'Life and Victory'.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

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