Dr. Charles Stanley
Read | Hebrews 6:11-12
The Lord wouldn’t have made all the promises in the Bible if He didn’t want to give His children great blessings. Yet we cannot be presumptuous and simply assume such benefits automatically belong to us. So how can we claim God’s promises with the expectation that He will take pleasure in answering our petitions?
There are certain questions we must ask in order to test the needs we bring before our heavenly Father. These include:
• Does this promise meet my personal need or desire?
• Am I asking with a spirit of submissiveness to His will?
• Can God fulfill this request without harming another person or interfering with His will in someone else’s life?
• Does the Holy Spirit bear witness to my spirit that the petition pleases God?
• Will God be honored by fulfilling this?
• Does my request to claim this promise contradict God’s Word in some way?
• If God fulfills this promise, will it further my spiritual growth?
Once we have satisfactorily answered these questions, inheriting God’s promises depends on three requirements. First, we need to have faith. Our Father wants us to trust Him, and He rewards those who do (Gen. 15:6; Heb. 11:6).
Second, we must be obedient to whatever we know is His will for us—we’ll never attain His best if we knowingly disobey. And third, we must have patience and be willing to wait for the Lord’s perfect timing. Doing these things is well worth our while, considering the blessings He longs to give us.
