Declare the Decree part 4
I really truly believe that it's all about receiving and releasing. Because it's all about love. Love is the Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end. And everything in between. And love is giving. Which is why receiving is so important. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. So you have to know what you have. Right? You have to receive what God has given you before you can release it. Before you can give it away. Look at 1 Chronicles 16:23-24, "Sing unto the LORD, all the earth; shew forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations." Shew forth His salvation and glory. Which doesn't mean beg Him for it. It seems like so often we use prayer as a lamp that we rub in the hopes that a genie will pop out and grant us some wishes. It seems like we think of prayer as our wish list for God to get busy with. "Can I have this? When will I be blessed with that." And there's nothing wrong with casting our cares on the Lord (because He cares for us). That's Biblical. But to me that was always more of a "let go and let God" type of deal. Not telling your God how big the storm is, but telling the storm how big your God is. Letting God handle the things that are too big for us to handle. Not whining and crying and complaining... but simply having faith in God. Trusting your heavenly Father to have your back. Because He DOES have your back! So instead of that begging mindset--a mindset of lack--we focus on what we DO have. An attitude of gratitude. Instead of begging God for things we don't have (or think we don't have)... we thank Him for what we DO have. We thank Him for what He HAS done, and what He HAS given us. We declare His glore among the heathens (or those who don't know Him) not by wailing about what He hasn't done... but by declaring what He has done. Singing His praises does not mean asking Him for stuff. Singing His praises means... singing His praises. Praising Him for what He has done. Enjoying the gift He has given us--by giving it away--is how we declare the decree. God has declared life. He has declared love. Jesus gave His life for us... but He also gave His life to us. So that we might have it. So that we might be able to experience it as He lives it in us, and through us, and as us. Our part is not to "get" anything. Because love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. Our part is to use what we have. To be grateful and thankful for it. To, oh yes, receive it and release it. Know it and believe it. Breathe it in and breathe it out with every breath we take and every move we make. God has declared so many good things for us. Decreed so many good things for us. He made the Way of Grace. And we respond with the Walk of Faith. He has done things that are praiseworthy. All we have to do is praise Him. And when we do that... we experience those things in even greater measure. We let what's inside come out and then we get to experience it and enjoy it as it comes out!