Most Christians believe, without a doubt, God can be trusted. But do we really live our lives trusting Him? Do you expect to see these “God Things” that take place from time to time in your life? Most of the time, answers to prayer are camouflaged and not easily detected.

Hebrews 10:35–36 “So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.” NLT

Do we realize that everything that God promises can be ours if we will do His will? What have we missed by not trusting God to fulfill His promises? You may ask: “What is God’s will?” His will is that we study the Bible and live by its principles. God, talking to Joshua as he was about to lead the Israelites into the promise land, gives us a capsule of what the Bible teaches to all Christians.

Joshua 1:5 – 9 – “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. ‘Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.’” NLT

Many believed but did not trust. The Israelites saw God free them from slavery, divide the Red Sea, destroy the Egyptian Army, supernaturally feed and give them water and then led them through the desert. Yet, when they were told to enter the promise land they became afraid and refused to obey and trust God.

I remember in 1991 when we decided to buy 80 acres for a new church and didn’t have the money. We obtained the acreage. We started building a $23 million building project when we didn’t have the money. It was completed in December 1999. Years later, we have never missed a mortgage payment. On special events we will fill seven services and with our satellites attendance we will have approximately 50,000 people. What if we have had the faith but lacked the trust as the ten Israeli spies who didn’t trust God to keep His promises when told to enter the promise land? Thus, they convinced the others it couldn’t be done. That could have happened to our church and I am sure has happened to many Christian churches.

Isaiah 12:2 – “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 26:4 – “Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal.” Psalms 27:1 – “The Lord is my light and the One Who saves me. Whom should I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom should I be afraid?” NIV

Are we not told that if we continually study the Bible, live by its principles and not deviate from it, we will be successful and prosper in what we do? Do you believe enough and have the faith to trust that God will keep His promises? Isn’t it worth a try? It starts with Bible study! Isaiah 12:2a – “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid;” Isaiah 26:4 – “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” NIV

If you accepted Christ a few years ago and have failed to grow spiritually, chances many of your prayers may not be answered as you would like. I believe the Bible is very clear that most of God’s promises are conditional and His only obligation is to believers who are putting Him first in their lives. That does not mean He will not answer your prayer, it is not a guarantee. Many teach if you have enough faith your prayer will be answered. It takes more than faith. It also takes commitment and a personal relationship with Christ.

God requires that we learn His Word. How else would we know whether we are living a holy life? Have your been redeemed and are you righteous? You may have received the Holy Spirit but have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Are you aware of a power received from the Holy Spirit? Do you have supernatural “God Things”, experiences or unexplained occurrences from time to time? It may not be luck or a coincidence but God intervening.

Do you realize all of the many promises God gives to those who have a deep personal relationship with Christ and Him? Are you willing to make the effort to improve your spiritual standard of living? God does not want us to remain baby Christians throughout our adult life. He does not want us to fail to mature and be unproductive children. How do most parents feel about their children who intentionally fail to get an education and are unwilling to get a job? If they are physically and mentally able, they are that way because we gave them more than we should have or we lacked adequate discipline. We were enablers and made them unwilling to develop, mature and become independent. Isn’t God smarter than we? He is not going to hurt us by answering prayers that will make us overly dependent to a fault. But He will answer the prayers of those doing their best and continually progressing to spiritual maturity.

Sometimes we may feel so unworthy that it is difficult to believe that God really loves us enough to answer our prayers. There can be times when we may least expect God to answer our prayer and He does. The more we see the Holy Spirit working in our lives, the greater we can be motivated to study His Word and pray. God knows what it takes to encourage us. So never give up and pray with the faith to believe your prayer will be answered. God doesn’t want us to fail. But sometimes we are so tempted by the world that we chose worldly pleasures over God. This does not please God. So if we want our prayers constantly answered, we must do as Scripture says.

Most of God’s promises in the Bible are conditional but a few are unconditional. For example: John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”