<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="65001"%> The Process of Practical Blessings

The Process of Practical Blessings

Insight into achieving the desires of your heart

Introduction

A former pastor once told me that God is practical. That is, God operates within the system that exists on this earth, though that doesn’t preclude Him from going outside of that system. However, God usually works within the system that is in operation on this earth regarding physical and social laws (not to be confused with the world system). Jesus Christ is a great example of this. God entered our world in the form of a man so that salvation would be available to all. He operated through the system of the earth in that Jesus was born of a women, though a virgin, he was taught as other Jewish boys, he grew in maturity, etc. All of this was practical as opposed to mystical or fully supernatural. Sometimes the Bible is so practical that people explain the miracles of God as natural phenomenon, which isn’t necessarily accurate.

The same applies to blessings. Blessings do not come via miracles in most cases. There is a process to realizing the blessings that God has for you. This is what we will discuss in this lesson. We are going to examine what I call the process of practical blessings. Over the past twenty plus years I have noticed a consistency in the times that I was blessed by realizing a dream or a goal that I had. I realized that there were biblical principles in effect during each of the times that I was pursuing my goal or realizing a blessing of the Lord. I would like to share this experience, insight, and knowledge with you in this lesson.

Is there a systematic way of realizing the blessings that belong to you? Is there a defined process that will help me to realize my dreams, goals, and purpose? Well, I can’t say that there is a definite process but I do believe that there is an overall process that you can implement to realize the blessings that belong to you as well as accomplishing your goals and dreams, which are blessings in themselves. We are going to discuss this process in this lesson. I call it the process of practical blessings.

Blessings Defined

What is a blessing? What does it mean to be blessed? What do people mean when they say that they want a blessing from the LORD or that God blessed them?

The word bless means the act of declaring, or wishing, God’s favor and goodness upon others. For the context of our lesson, a blessing is actually the realization of a wish, declaration, God’s favor and goodness. A blessing is also associated with something good of course

We might say that the word bless indicates a state of good fortune or a state of being fortunate. For example, in Matthew 5:3-11, the word “blessed” means to be fortunate, well off, speak well of, or happy.

For practical purposes we could say that blessings are the things that make us happy, fortunate, or well off. What could give you the sense of being in good fortune or well off? I should point out that sometimes blessings are not readily identified as such. For example, getting an operation can be painful both before (emotionally) and after (physically). However, overall the operation was a blessing to you in regards to your health.

Now there are two categories of blessings that I would like to point out. They are listed below.

Spiritual blessings
Material blessings

Let’s discuss these two categories of blessings now.

Spiritual Blessings

I define spiritual blessings as those blessings that are not necessarily tied to the material world. For example, spiritual blessings would include the following.

Salvation (the greatest blessing of all)
Forgiveness
Ministry of teaching
Ministry of a pastor
Ministry of an evangelist
Comfort
Encouragement

In general, spiritual blessings are those things that are more tied to the Kingdom of God then they are to the physical or material realm. However, there are some blessings that might fit both categories. For example, a blessing of healing is definitely spiritual in nature if it is indeed a miracle of God. However, we can affect healing in our body by eating right, exercising, medications, etc. This does not preclude the fact that the blessing is indeed from God. However, there are activities in the natural realm that can sometimes affect healing in our bodies. I should also point out, for the sake of argument, that healing is not always tied to the body. Sometimes healing is associated with our minds, dispositions, and even our spirit in regards to salvation.

Now consider the following scripture.

Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV) “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Here Jesus instructs us of the importance of being spiritually minded. In other words, do not consider blessings as merely those material things that will give you pleasure on earth. Let me give you an illustration in the form of a few questions. We tend to ask God for things that are primarily tied to the earth whereas heavenly things should be even more important.

What if you were as zealous about having the gift of helps or healing as you were about getting a new home or car? What if you were just as tenacious about having a closer relationship with Christ as you were about deliverance from something that binds you or money to fix your car? The fact is that we tend to be much more earthly minded then we should be. Blessings are not just material possessions. Blessings encompass all aspects of our lives and ultimately all spiritual blessings come from God (See Ephesians 1:3).

So I submit to you that when you consider the goals of your heart and therefore your blessings, please remember that blessings are not merely material things. Blessings are spiritual as well and these blessings are indeed more important then material things.

The process to obtaining your blessings is the same for both spiritual and material blessings. However, we have little to do with the acquisition of a spiritual blessing and a lot to do with the acquisition of the material blessing, that is, we have a more active part in the process.

Now we must remember that spiritual blessings are higher priority then material blessings because they are eternal and deal with spiritual things. Material blessings only apply to our lives on this earth and do not extend to real life, which is eternal.

Material Blessings

Material blessings are physical in nature. These include such things as the following.

New home
New car
New job
Money for a bill
Children
Spouse

These are all things that are physical and we have a lot of input in acquiring these. Though material blessings do not have as high a priority in the context of our complete life, it still is very significant as we live on this earth.

The peculiar thing about material blessings is that they do not necessarily originate from God and we should always remember that. For example, we can purchase something outside of the will of God or we can acquire something according to God’s will or purpose.

Obtaining material blessings therefore require a lot of thought, prayer, and self control because it is a lot easier to justify a new Lincoln Towne car in the name of the LORD then just to purchase a used Toyota according to your finances. You just might purchase a car that is beyond your means in the name of faith in God instead of being a good steward of what God has given you.

There is an abundance of teachings in the Christian community that would have you believe that material blessings are the goal for your life. There are many that believe that God’s objective is to lavish you with gifts such as new homes, cars, etc. However, the Bible does not teach us this. Consider the following scripture.

Proverbs 23:4-5 (NKJV) Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.

This is a very important message from scripture and therefore from God. It is not beneficial to labor to be rich because riches are an illusion. They are here today and gone tomorrow. Riches are earthly and therefore temporal so it is not wise to put more energy into it then that which is eternal—those things of the Kingdom of God.

Consider also the following scripture.

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 (NKJV) Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart.

This is an astounding principle because it reveals a few very important concepts.

God does give some people riches and the ability to enjoy their work
The gift of God is to enjoy what we have while on this earth

Now consider the next scripture

Ecclesiastes 6:2 (NKJV) A man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing for himself of all he desires; yet God does not give him power to eat of it, but a foreigner consumes it. This is vanity, and it is an evil affliction.

Here God gives people wealth but that wealth is not for them. Others will enjoy the wealth that some people have. Consider the following verse.

Deuteronomy 8:17 through Deuteronomy 8:18 (NKJV) then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth’ “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

It is God who gives us the ability to get wealth. It is God who has given us the ability or power to get anything that we have. This ability or power may be used for the better or the worse. The important thing to note is that without God we could do nothing.

So overall, material blessings do have their place. However, they should not be considered as very important to life because they are temporal. What really matter are those things that are heavenly.

The Process To Blessings

Please understand that I am in no way presenting the secrets to being blessed. I am sharing with you the things that I have learned to acquire what God has made available to you. For example, we all know that God gave the children of Israel the Promised Land. However, they had to do a number of things in order to actually physically possess it.

The same applies to us. There might be many things that God has given you but you do not possess them yet for a number of reasons. I hope to share some things with you that will help you possess what God has already given you. Therefore, we are going to discuss the process to blessings, which can be summarized in the following steps.

Hope (Establish what the blessing is, i.e., the goal)
Pray
Work
Persist
Watch
Act
Thanks, praise, and worship

Let’s discuss each of these in some detail now.

Hope

The first thing that you have to do before you can acquire your blessing is to know what it is? Consider the following scripture.

Psalm 37:3-4 (NKJV) 3Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Isaiah 58:14 (NKJV) Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

John 15:7 (NKJV) If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV) Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

I define hope here as the vision or goal that you have, which is considered a blessing that you desire.

What do you desire? What things do you want both spiritually and materially and why? Motive is very important.

It is very unlikely that you will experience the blessings of God if you don’t want them. You will most likely not receive the blessings of God if you do not have a desire for them for whatever reason. For example, someone might oppose the idea of having a new home or an effective ministry because he or she thinks low of himself or herself.

So it is very important that you have a vision, desire, or goal for the things that you consider to be a blessing. This is hope. Hope is the vision of the item that you want. If it is spiritual blessing then you can imagine yourself with it and using it. If it is a material blessing then you can imagine yourself with that as well.

Prayer

It is hard to imagine a Christian that doesn’t know the value or importance of prayer. Prayer is necessary for all aspects of our lives because it is a way of communing with God. Prayer is like a channel to the Spirit of God so that we might obtain wisdom, knowledge, revelation, guidance, and insight for any situation.

Prayer is therefore very important for us to realize and maintain blessings. Consider the following scripture.

Luke 18:1-5 (NKJV) Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”

Jesus taught us that we should always pray. Prayer is an integral part in the Christian’s life because it is our communications link to God. We can hear from God and receive instruction and guidance through prayer and watching, which we will discuss shortly.

Prayer is an excellent way to get our minds focused on God because sometimes we might become overwhelmed with emotion and do something that we shouldn’t. Emotional manipulation is even practiced in some Christian gatherings, which opens you to many sorts of suggestions. However, with prayer and a normal tendency to seek God, we can avoid doing things that perhaps we shouldn’t.

There are plenty of examples of how prayer is an integral part in the process of realizing a blessing. Consider the following scriptures.

1 Samuel 1:9-10 (NKJV) So Hannah arose after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the tabernacle of the Lord. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.

Prayer for Peter

Acts 12:5 (NKJV) Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church.

Peter was in prison for preaching the Word of God. The church therefore prayed for Him continually. This also illustrates the concept of persistent prayer, which we will discuss shortly.

Work

What part does work have in the life of a Christian? Much. I define work as activity. There is much in life that we have to do and therefore we must work. Now work is not the means of obtaining justification. We are justified (saved) by faith in Jesus Christ and not by works. However, during our lives there are a number of things that we will have to do.

Of course we will have to make a living somehow, which means that there is going to be some type of work. We will have to go to our job and earn a pay, or manage a business for example.

Now what does work has to do with blessings. Again, we can see the answer to this if we consider the Hebrews and the Promised Land. God had given them the Promised Land and yet they had to war with the people that were already in the lands. They had to do something in order to affect what God had already given them.

Let me give you an illustration of this concept. Suppose you wanted a new car because your current car is old and ready to give out on you or you don’t have one and would like to have a car to get around better? You will hope for a car because you will visualize yourself driving one for example. You will definitely pray for one since you know how important prayer. However, if you just sit back and expect God to deliver a car to your door then you are very mistaken. Most likely you will never get a car if you just wait without any activity. You are going to have to at least look for a car. You will have to check your finances—not that your finances are the limiting factor. You will have to determine what you need and want in a car. You will have to research car insurance and maintenance costs. There is a lot of work that you will have to do before you get this car. Do you see? You might find that you have to give some things up in order to save for this car. The same applies to any blessing, which a car is.

The same thing applies to spiritual blessings though our physical activity is limited due to the nature of those types of blessings. For example, if you wanted the gift of teaching then you would hope for it (visualize and desire the gift). You would definitely pray for it since this is a gift in the body of Christ. However, you will have to begin to study so that you will have something to teach. You can’t expect God just to fill your head with knowledge such that you can run out and start teaching. Teaching is a gift, however you still need something to teach, which means you will have to work. Do you understand?

Consider Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Salvation came through the redemptive act of Jesus Christ. Look at what Jesus had to do.

Train His disciples
Reveal the Father to the people
Reveal the Kingdom of God to the people through teaching
Die on the Cross

Jesus had a job to do and He did it. He had to work to affect the salvation that is available to us.

The same applies to the disciples and the Apostolic Fathers of the Christian faith. They didn’t sit around in faith and wait until God spread the Gospel to all people. Others realized the blessing of salvation because these men and women worked. They were active in the spiritual blessing of salvation.

So we have to be active if we expect our blessings to be realized. We have to work. Let’s look at some examples from the Bible.

Hannah

1 Samuel 1:19-20 (NKJV) Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

Hannah wanted a son so she prayed. However, a man and a woman must have sexual relations in order to bear a child. Of course this relation might be artificial with the techniques of conception today. In any case, there must be a union of a human egg and a human sperm in order for conception to take place (this is not taking into account the virgin birth of Jesus Christ). So Hannah had to have sexual intercourse with her husband, Elkanah in order for her to have a child even after praying to God. She had to do something. I call this something a form of work.

Naaman

2 Kings 5:9-14 (NKJV) Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored to you, and you shall be clean.” But Naaman became furious, and went away and said, “Indeed, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy.’ Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do something great, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

Read 2 Kings 5:1-14 for the complete account of this story. In any case, Naaman’s blessing was the healing of his body from leprosy. He had to do something in order to realize this blessing, though he objected. He was finally convinced to wash in the Jordan (work) and then he was cleansed of his leprosy. His blessing was realized after he had actively participated. God could have healed him with just a word from Elisha but he didn’t. Naaman’s blessing required action on his part.

Woman With Flow of Blood

Matthew 9:20-22 (NKJV) And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

See also Luke 8:43-56. Her was a woman that wanted to realize a blessing. She tried the conventional methods by going to the doctors. She reasoned that if she could just touch Jesus’ garment that she would be healed. We don’t know why she reasoned that but we can assume that she had heard of Jesus’ miracles and also knew of the crowd that usually was around him. This is perhaps why she reasoned that she only had to touch his garment since it would have been less likely that she would have obtained an audience with him.

The point here is that she had to do something to realize her blessing, her healing. She was actively involved with obtaining the blessing of healing that she desired.

Paralytic Man

Mark 2:1-5 (NKJV) And again He entered Capernaum after some days, and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And He preached the word to them. Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”

Mark 2:10-12 (NKJV) But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

This is a very interesting story because it actually involved the faith of the men who were carrying the paralytic. So we can say that your faith might have an impact on who you care about. Also note that the realization of the paralytic’s blessing was rather practical though radical. They had to do something drastic in order to get to Jesus just as the woman with the issue of blood did. They made a hole in the roof so that they could lower their friend down to Jesus, which ultimately resulted in their friend being blessed.

Perhaps we have to do drastic things in order to realize the blessings that already belong to us. Sometimes we might have to do the unexpected or the radical in order to take hold of our blessings. These are all forms of work, i.e., activities leading up to blessings.

Persist

We have to persist in the things that we do that lead to the realization of our blessings. Don’t give up. Keep praying and do all that you can do to realize the blessing for you. Consider the following scripture.

Habakkuk 2:4 (NKJV) “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

The word faith in this scripture is a Hebrew word that means firmness, stability, steady, and moral fidelity. This implies a person that is consistent and stable. They are firm in their dealings and beliefs. This type of person can be trusted. Also, this type of person will be persistent because of their faith.

Consider the following examples of our need for persistence.

Parable on persistance in prayer

We see here that the persistence of the woman in the parable led to her desires being realized. The message is, as you can see in verse 1, is that we should pray and never give up. That is, we should pray and persist in whatever is necessary to realize our desires, goals, and blessings.

Ask, seek, and knock

Matthew 7:7 (NKJV) “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

This verse implies a persistency because of the word seek used in the context of the scripture. The word seek implies a process and therefore is not a one time instance of something. To seek therefore implies persistency for the thing that you desire. Some therefore render this verse as “Keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking…”

I should point out that the context of this verse is the persistence towards a relationship with God since the word seek was more related to pursuit via Hebraism.

The main point that I am making here is that we should persist in the things that we desire. This means that we continually pray as well as continue to do those things that are appropriate to realizing our goals, dreams, and blessings.

Watch

Consider the following scriptures.

Matthew 26:41 (NKJV) 1Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Mark 13:32-33 (NKJV) “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.

Luke 21:34-36 (NKJV) “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

The word watch in these verses implies a state of readiness, alertness to danger, and of course sleeplessness in the literal sense. We are more concerned with the context of being alert and ready. It is wonderful to pray and great to be actively involved in obtaining your blessings. However, you cannot grasp your blessings if you don’t grasp the opportunity to get it.

Let me make one thing very clear. I do not believe in the dependence on miracles or supernatural phenomenon because the Bible doesn’t teach us to do these things. The Bible, for example, does not teach us to wait for a miracle or rely on miracles. Jesus taught us to pray, watch, and do.

The main point here is that you be alert to the opportunities presented to you by God so that you can take appropriate actions. This might involve faith (not blind faith) and might take the form of a risk. However, if you had been doing all that you can to realize this blessing then you would readily recognize the hand of God moving or at least you would be more likely to move when the opportunity presents itself. Also, understand that this doesn’t mean that we won’t make mistakes and do things that we shouldn’t. That, however, is what many call a fact of life. We don’t live in a perfect world so we shouldn’t expect things to work out perfectly. As a matter of fact, God just might be the orchestrator of such situations in order to get you to even greater heights. So watch, be ready to take the necessary action.

Act

You have two options when the opportunity presents itself for you to realize your blessings. Your options are either to go forward or don’t go forward. That’s it. Are you willing to step out and take what you believe belongs to you? Are you willing to take the risk to move ahead?

The fact of the matter is that usually nothing is crystal clear to us. It would be nice if we really heard from God (and knew it was God). It would be nice if God told us exactly what to do and when to do it. However, this doesn’t usually happen in the way that we would like. We would like for a convincing dream, a sign, or a word from the Lord from your local prophet or even pastor.

I submit to you that you have to learn to rely on hearing God for yourself and stop relying on the words of others and supernatural phenomenon. Learn to trust God and recognize his voice. Learn to move when God says move.

A former pastor of mine once told me that when God opens a door for you that you should run through it because he has already established everything you need to accomplish whatever it is. Another pastor of a church I attended preached a remarkable sermon that was titled, “Where God Guides, He Provides.” The message is clear. God has provided all that you need wherever he guides you so you don’t have to worry. The problem is in knowing the will of God and knowing that God really established the particular opportunity. Confidence in this can only come from experience, therefore the importance of obedience is revealed here. The more you obey God then the more you will experience Him as you see the results of doing what He says.

My point here is merely that you have to take the appropriate action to realize your blessings. There are numerous examples in the Bible. For instance consider the following scripture.

John 5:5-8 (NKJV) Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.”

Here, at the pool of Bethesda, Jesus told a man to take up his mat and get up and walk. Why did the man believe that by the words of Jesus that he would all of a sudden be able to walk? Note that the man didn’t know that it was Jesus (John 5:13). In any case, the man took action. He got up and walked. He could have argued about his condition but he didn’t.

This is rather typical of how people took action to realize their blessing. Jesus would tell them to do something and they would do it. However, there were occasions when that didn’t happen and the people weren’t healed (See Matthew 13:53-58, Mark 6:5-6).

So don’t be afraid to take action when the time has come. Pray, watch, and act.

Thanks, Praise, and Worship

We cannot forget that the blessings that we have come from God. Therefore, we should always thank God for our blessing, praise Him for our blessings, and worship Him because he is indeed worthy of it.

For example consider the following scriptures.

Psalm 100:4 (NKJV) Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

Psalm 106:48 (NKJV) Blessed be the Lord God of Israel From everlasting to everlasting! And let all the people say, “Amen!” Praise the Lord!

The point here is that we should thank God for the blessings that we have. I recently read something pertaining to Judaism that I thought was wonderful. It stated that one type of Berakhot (blessing) is recited before enjoying a material pleasure, such as eating, drinking or wearing new clothes. This acknowledges God as the one who brings forth bread from the earth. That is, God is acknowledged as the source of that blessing and all blessings. It is true that we should bless God before enjoying our blessing. In the context of this study, this acknowledgement comes after we have possession of the blessing and is a means of acknowledging God as the source of the blessing. This keeps us from pride and thinking that our own power has enables us to receive the blessing that we have.

We hear a lot of teachings about God blessing us, however the teaching of acknowledging God, praising, thanking, and worshipping God are disproportionate. What if we had the same zeal in thanking, praising and worshipping God as we had when we were persistently praying for something?

God should be so real and such an integral part of our lives that praising and thanking Him should be paramount just for the things that we have and that he has given to us.

So one thing that we should always do in regards to blessings is to thank God, praise God, and worship God.

False Formulas

I must make a point here. There are many that believe that God will bless us if we tithe, go to church every Sunday, speak in tongues, etc. These in themselves are not a formula for blessings. In other words, you will not receive a blessing from God merely because you tithe or go to church every Sunday. Though it is beyond the scope of this lesson, your blessing is primarily a result of obedience and fellowship with the Lord. Don’t think that you will receive a blessing simply because you performed some act told to you by your pastor, deacon, bishop, or whomever.

I believe that it is paramount that you understand that if there is a key to blessings then that key is obedience and fellowship and not rituals and formulas given to you by your church or religious institutions.

Conclusion

We have discussed the process of obtaining your blessings. Now this process may not be applicable in all situations. However, I feel as though it is a very good estimation of the general process of obtaining blessings that God has provided for us.

We learned first of all that there are two basic types of blessings: spiritual and material. Spiritual blessings are far more important in regards to the totality of life. However, material blessings have their place as we exist on this earth.

We should hope, that is, to visualize what we want so that we have a clear picture both to pursue and to compare against the will of God to the best of our ability.

We should pray for the things that we want.

Next you should work. This means that you should be actively involved in realizing your blessing as much as possible. Sometimes there might be nothing that you can do except prayer. If so then pray diligently.

We should also be persistent for the things that we pursue. This persistency applies to our prayers as well as the things that we do in order to be actively involved in realizing our blessing.

Next we learned the importance of watching. Be aware of what is going on and be ready for any opportunity that might come because these opportunities might be orchestrated by the hand of God.

There will come a time where you have to act. This is the actual act of possessing your blessing. It might be a scary time because of the faith and confidence usually associated with it. However, it is a necessary step in most cases (some blessings are indeed gifts).

We cannot forget to thank God for our blessings. We must acknowledge God as the source of all blessings and therefore all that we have. Doing this will help us to recognize our true need for God and to recognize the fact that He is the source for what we have and not our own energy or wisdom.

Obtaining blessings from God is usually very practical. There is no magic and we are not to rely on miracles (not that they won’t happen). We pray for spiritual blessings and still do all that we can to affect it, which usually means that we learn about it. We pray for material blessings and become actively involved, at least as much as possible, in obtaining what we pray to God for. There is a process to obtaining blessings and that process is rather practical.

So have faith in God. Learn to trust God. Learn how God operates by examining the scriptures pertaining to the Kingdom of God and the examples given to us on how God interacted with His people. Most of all obey God and blessings will follow. Do what you can to obtain what belongs to you. Don’t think that you can sit back and do nothing and the blessings of God will fall into your lap. No. Be active and pursue your blessings and you will experience far more blessings from God then if you did nothing. Amen.