We all have things we’re believing for. It might be to accomplish a dream, to meet the right person, or for our health to turn around. We’ve prayed, believed, stood in faith, but it hasn’t happened yet. Sometimes we want it so badly and are so determined that we keep asking and asking, “God, You have to turn this around. Please heal my child. Please give me this good break.” But here’s the key: Once you pray, you don’t have to ask again. From then on, you need to thank God that it’s on the way.
Jesus says, “Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:24). When you pray, believe that God is so faithful that He set the miracle into motion, that in the unseen realm angels are dispatched with your healing, your breakthrough, your freedom. Believe that it happened right then. If you receive when you believe, if you already have it by faith, you don’t have to keep asking for it. You have to switch over from asking to thanking God.
Instead of praying, “God, I’m asking again that You please heal me,” now it’s, “Lord, thank You that I’m healed.” Instead of begging, “God, please get my child back on course,” try a different approach: “Lord, thank You that as for me and my house, we will serve You. My children will fulfill their destiny.” That’s a different mindset. When we keep asking again and again, pleading with God, it’s as though we feel we have to talk Him into it or we don’t deserve it. But when you switch over to thanking Him, you’re saying, “God, I trust You. I know You’re faithful to Your Word. I believe what You promised and purposed for my life will come to pass.”
The apostle Paul says it this way: “Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks” (Philippians 4:6). It’s not enough to just ask; you have to add thanksgiving. That’s your faith being released. If you’re worrying your prayers, you’re not going to receive what you’re asking for. If you’re praying from a place of defeat, saying, “God, when is it going to work out?” that’s going to limit you. Pray from a place of victory. Find what God says about you in the Scripture, then pray what God promised and thank Him for it. Don’t keep asking again and again. Take Him at His Word. Get in agreement with what He’s spoken over your life and be thankful. That’s what builds your faith. That’s how you’re going to stay strong and have the endurance to see the promises come to pass.