CONTENDING FOR THE PROMISE
Heyyy y’all and welcome back. I pray that all has been well with you. Last month we did not drop a blog post but this month I am back, yayyy, with a topic that I believe is necessary for every Believer. “Contending for the prophetic promise…." because we get so excited when we receive the word or the promise but then there is a process that we have to go through before the promise is made manifest (tangible evidence in the natural). Before we get started here, if you did not read the blog post from April “ Dear Watchman…Watch and Pray,” check it out and please be sure to comment and share it as led. Thank you. Now, let’s get right to it, shall we.
How many of you have received a prophetic word/promise OR have been reading the Bible and something just POPS out at you and you know it is a word specifically for you? I have experienced both. When God has given a prophetic promise, how are we to respond? Are we to wait, in faith, for Him to bring it about in His divine timing, or are we to war for that which He has promised to see it speedily brought forth? This is not really a trick question, it’s actually quite rhetorical...hopefully you will agree that the answer is—BOTH! Scripture gives clear direction that we are to wait for the Lord and to war for His promises. But sometimes walking this out can be harder than it appears. So while both are important, today I want to emphasize the importance of contending for the promises of God and fighting the good fight of faith. Scripture reads, “This command I commit to you, my son Timothy, according to the prophecies that were previously given to you, that by them you might fight a good fight” (1 Tim. 1:18).
According to Merriam-Webster, "contending with" means dealing with or handling a difficult or unpleasant situation. It implies a struggle or effort to overcome an obstacle or challenge. The phrase can also mean competing or arguing about something— so, in other words, contending for God’s promises involves fighting for what God has promised, even when it does not feel true. How do we do this? Here are 7 ways to contend for God's promises:
Read the Bible: Read the Word of God daily to know God's promises and so you can stand on His word.
Write down scripture: Find a scripture that you can stand on in faith, write it down, and put it somewhere you can see it.
Be convinced: Be fully convinced or be fully persuaded that God's Word is true and that what He has promised is His will for your life.
Agree with God: Agree with God's Word, not your circumstances.
Focus on the giver: Focus your faith on the giver, not the gift.
Be patient: Embrace patience, as there are no shortcuts.
Praise and Worship: Worship while you wait because God is faithful and will do what He has promised.
Seems pretty straight forward right? But what do you do when you have been waiting and praying and travailing and contending for 5 years, for 10 years, for 15 years…what do you do when the enemy is trying to lie to you and tell you that God will never bring His promise to pass because if He was going to, He already would have. What do you do when your faith starts to waiver because you have been praying for years and still nothing. WHAT DO YOU DO? You wage a good warfare!! The Kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the violent TAKE IT BY FORCE. Lissstteeennnnnnn….somebody catch it!
Wage a good warfare!! Because if we are truthful, it is exciting to receive a prophetic word but I know for me, I had no idea what the process was after I received the word. For many years I had no idea that I had a part to play in that word coming to pass. Another important thing to note here, when people do not see a word come forth immediately, they tend to lose interest OR they expect that word to come into fruition by tomorrow. Who can relate? And even so, some receive a word and hold it for years, believing for it to come forth… passively waiting, slowly losing hope…. don’t let this be your portion.
Because over are the days of allowing the enemy to bully our minds, leading us to believe that God won’t deliver. We must have FAITH. One way to faithfully wait for a word to be birthed is to write it out and place it where you can see it as a daily reminder. You must wage war for your destiny. After testing the spirit behind the word, pray over it regularly. Then write scriptures around it that line up with God's word. Share the word with someone who loves you and whom you can trust and ask them to help you remember the promises of God for your destiny and encourage you to walk them out. The Apostle Paul did this for his spiritual son, Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:18, as mentioned above (at the end of paragraph 2). Apostle Paul encouraged young Timothy to wage war according to the words he had received. These prophecies provided Timothy with direction for his ministry and gave him the motivation to continue to serve faithfully. These prophetic words imparted his destiny into him and released it into the atmosphere. Prophetic words are spoken through the Holy Spirit who speaks on behalf of God. (John 16:13)
How often do you activate your faith to engage with the words over your life? For a prophetic word to come to pass you must first believe the word that was released — come into agreement with God concerning the word. You must embrace the word. Because once the word is released is becomes a seed, that you must allow to germinate in your soul, making you pliable in the Father's hands during the process of praying and waiting on the word to come to pass. I pray that this is making sense because too many times we can be guilty of receiving a prophetic word and then dismissing it after we do not see anything happening in the first 3 days. But that ends right here, right now. After reading this blog post you will have gained prophetic insight and clarity and there will be a shift in how you approach this thing going forward, in the name of Jesus.
Let’s put it in practical perspective…here is a really good example (disclaimer: I am in no way promoting this, it is just a practical example for the sake of this blog post). If someone you trusted told you that you were going to win the lottery and all you had to do was buy a ticket, would you? Many of you would say yes. You would take the necessary next steps, you would spend the money, go to the nearest store, and buy the ticket. Then you would believe you were the winner or at least hope for it and would wait for the numbers to be drawn. So, why is it then when God releases a word over a person's destiny that they do not contend for it, they do not take the necessary next steps? And remember, when I say contend for the word spoken over you, what I mean is that you must take the actions required to meet God where He wants to bring you.
Again, to contend for something means to argue, struggle, contest, or vie for something meaningful to you. By doing this, you speak against anything the enemy would say to you to keep you from your destiny. Let’s dive deeper, I gave you a practical example now here is a biblical example: There was a man named Naaman who was the commander of the army of the king of Syria, and he was greatly honored, considered a man of valor, but he had leprosy. It was suggested to him that he go to the king of Israel to be healed so he went. The prophet Elisha heard that the king of Israel was upset about Naaman’s desire for him to heal him so Elisha said, “Send him to me.” The story continues. Then Naaman went with his horses and chariot, and he stood at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 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.” 11 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.’ 12 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. 13 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’?” 14 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. 2 Kings 5:9-14
Press in because this will bless you: there were at least two demonic voices that tried to convince Naaman to not listen to the prophet — pride and anger. Naaman had to first swallow his pride, then believe the steps he needed to take would work and that he would be healed. Notice Naaman didn’t have to go and just put his toe in the water, but he had to go into the water and fully submerge himself in what he considered dirty water. He had to do it seven times, nonetheless! The outcome was Naaman becoming a believer in the one and only true and living God. Naaman received a prophetic word with prophetic instructions and had a part to play. Somebody catch it!!! The young Jewish girl that suggested her master go to the king of Israel was actually giving a prophetic word, a word of knowledge and a word of wisdom. When she said go, and you will be healed, it was a direct order from God. Had Naaman remained in his pride and anger, he would not have been healed. Did you catch it?
As I am writing this, I literally have to stop to repent. Because how many times has the Lord given me a word that I may have unintentionally dismissed due to pride or due to the prophetic instruction that was attached to it. Wow!! Lord, I repent. I turn away and I ask for Your forgiveness. Put me back on the right path, in Your perfect will so that I do not delay destiny. Wow, just wow.
You see, Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy - Period. Jesus comes to give life and more abundantly (John 10:10). The abundant life Jesus gives must be fought for at times. Because the truth is, life is full of tribulations and trials, just as Jesus said it would be — so we must wage a good warfare!!
So, how do we contend for God’s promises when they do not look like they are ever going to come forth or come to pass? We need FAITH. 1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ... 6 But without faith [it is] impossible to please [Him], for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and [that] He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11:1, 6 NKJV. If the enemy can steal your faith, or cause you to doubt God’s word, he can stifle you and keep you stuck. But that is not our portion. We have some new arsenal in our spiritual tool kit/weapons for war and we are going to choose to CONTEND, in the mighty name of Jesus.
Because, if we don’t have faith, then there is no reason to ask God for anything. If we don’t have faith, when the Lord releases a prophetic word to us, we will allow it to go in one ear and out the other. 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. James 1:6-8 NKJV
Key actions in contending:
Praying with faith and persistence
Trusting in God’s timing
Keeping the word before you
Praising God for the promise to come to pass
So, faith is a necessity when we war for our destiny. When the enemy tries you, you must take your thoughts captive, holding them hostage to the faith we have put in the word of God. When the devil puts something in our thoughts that go against God’s thoughts of good and prosperity, we must command him to flee and take authority over the thoughts with God’s word — which is the truth.
This may seem “easier said then done,” right, but I want to talk to the person who has been waiting for what may seem like forever. Let me prophetically encourage you…when you’ve waited long, your flesh will want to quit, act out in unbelief, or speak against what God has planned for you because your flesh is prone to complaining. Do NOT curse your own destiny. Instead, CONTEND!! Let me say that again, do not curse your own destiny, instead choose to contend. Wage a good warfare. Because the truth is, the prophetic promise, the prophetic word, is bigger than you —legacy is on the line, the word is tied to you and the generations that come after you. So, fight the good fight of faith!! CONTEND - no more complaining.
Meditate on this: “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11
And this: “…And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.” Joshua 23:14 NKJV
***If you are struggling in this season with contending for the prophetic promise or you find yourself losing hope, I help Believers get their fight back and get their head back in the game via 1:1 Coaching. Come get equipped and empowered so that you are properly positioned to possess the promises of God over your life. For more information on scheduling, please visit: https://shecoaches.as.me/?
I pray that this blog post provided insight and clarity on how to contend for the promise. Please share or leave a comment down below.
Questions to ponder and potential comment starters: Have you struggled with this process in the past? What did you learn from the blog post? Was this information helpful?
Sincerely, Sheena M. - The Destiny Pusher