Keys to Cultivating the Promises of God

Don't you just love the promises of God - those times He speaks and your heart comes alive with destiny and hope. The voice of God is such a powerful weapon. It's a loaded gun against the kingdom of darkness, standing as a witness against the accusations of the enemy. 

When God speaks, it always has promise attached to it - He doesn't speak idle phrases to keep us at bay. Rather, He releases those powerful prophetic utterances to call us into destiny. Whether you heard Him in a Bible verse, through a conversation with a friend, driving down the road listening to worship tunes, or just by being quiet in your home - the promises of God are always YES in His heart. This means that He is always ready to start the process of fulfilling the promise in your life. Although it may look small and insignificant at times, He is eager every time to fulfill what He spoke. 

Although He is a good giver, He won’t allow anything into our lives that will in the end, destroy us. This quality as a Father makes Him good! Therefore, I believe when God speaks a promise over us, it is always an invitation to partner with Him in the process - to set our eyes on Him and see that promise fulfilled in His appointed time. I have often found that the Lord will only sustain in our lives what we are willing to protect. In light of this, I want to be found faithful in cultivating the promises spoken over my life. Paul told Timothy to wage war for the promises given to Him. He was to fight from what had been released his life. 

“So Timothy, my son, I am entrusting you with this responsibility, in keeping with the very first prophecies that were spoken over your life, and are now in the process of fulfillment in this great work of ministry. Continue to use your prophecies as weapons as you wage spiritual warfare by faith and with a clean conscience. For there are many who reject these virtues and are now destitute of the true faith, such as Hymenaeus and Alexander who have fallen away. I have delivered them both over to Satan to be rid of them and to teach them to no longer blaspheme!”  1 Timothy 1:18-20  (TPT)

As we are called to action like Timothy, I have discovered a few keys that always help me in stewarding what God speaks over my life. Check them out...

WRITE THE PROMISES DOWN

The fact is, vision becomes clearer as we record it. This is why, when I receive promises (or prophetic words) I like to jot them down. A journal is a tool that can be used as fire power in seasons of drought. In fact, one of the reasons our Bibles are so powerful is the fact that it is a journal of Gods vision for humanity. He had something to say, and delegated mankind to write it down - and now it stands as a reminder of His will for us. 

There have been times in my life where I grew weary for not seeing the promises fulfilled in my life and having a journal of some of the prophetic words and promises over my life, helped me to regain perspective and renew hope in my heart. We don’t write down the promises for anyone but ourselves. It’s not like God is saying, “Man, what did I do with my notes?”  No, He urges us to keep the promises before us and for us - to remind ourselves of the faithfulness of the Lord inside of His promises. 

MEDITATE, SPEAK, AND PRAY THE PROMISES

Pondering with prayer is the grounds where seed takes root. We neglect the promises of God when we don’t say them back to God. We serve a God who tells us things so we can then say them back, in which He tells us more things, to say them back - and so the cycle continues. 

When we say the promises of God, we are washing ourselves with the water of His word. By rehearsing the spoken word, we are placing ourself under the waterfall of His goodness, removing any of the unnecessary residue that has attached itself to our hearts along the way. 

LEARN TO WAIT

There was a time in my life where I thought waiting was simply sitting on the sidelines to see God do His thing. I thought that it was an 'all Him' thing - where He was going to do all the work while I sat and observed. I quickly learned otherwise. 

Through one of the toughest seasons of my life, I learned that the reality of 'Waiting' has nothing to do with sitting on our hands, but has everything to do with lifting of our hearts. In fact, the root word for wait (in the Hebrew) actually means “to entwine" or "to embrace.”  In the times of hearing the promises of God, we are instructed to instantly and consistently entwine our heart with His.

Promises are always designed to induce deeper intimacy with the Lord and His voice. 

This is why I will often say, 'When in drought, pray in tongues.'  It's in the times of waiting (to see promises fulfilled) that our character is forged and our heart is enlarged, for the purpose of carrying those promises throughout our lifetime. He's not just concerned about your today. Friends, He wants your heart to burn for decades!

ACT ON THE PROMISES

It is wise to seize the promises by taking small and significant steps of action. I like to say, 'The light is green until we see red.'  When He calls us into something, He is urging us to start taking (mostly small) steps to get the momentum going. It's the small steps that prepare us for the bigger ones. 

It has been proven that one of the best ways to learn is to actually teach and do what you have heard / learned. Personally, I find my greatest learnings are in the times of greatest leanings. As we (actively) lean into what He has spoken, we are instructed along the way.

It's interesting that Jesus gave the young disciples a short briefing, and sent them on their way - He knew they would learn best when their hand was to the plow.  Luke 10:1-2  Therefore, we see that Jesus is all about “tell and show.” All of God’s promises are received by faith, and faith has its expression in works. We weren’t saved by works, but we were saved for them. Ephesians 2:10

In 2 Corinthians 1:20, Paul says that all of His promises (which are many) are yes and amen. God says yes and He looks for us to be the amen. We, as the beloved, are called to manifest the promises of God in the earth. Friends, let us cultivate the promises of God!

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God."  2 Corinthians 1:20  (NIV)

-RA