Making God move

Religion Zone
Some believers are living under the mistaken belief that they are able to “move” God. They go on to organise “prayer chains” having hundreds of people praying so that they can “move” God.

Some believers are living under the mistaken belief that they are able to “move” God. They go on to organise “prayer chains” having hundreds of people praying so that they can “move” God. They can even go on 40-day fasts believing that this will “move” God. This is how we came up with such statements as “faith that moves God”. I have news for you my brother or sister. I am not saying that fasting is wrong. I believe in fasting and I do fast. However, it is about the motive behind the fast.

gracetidings with dr doug mamvura

People are saved, healed through grace
People are saved, healed through grace

God isn’t the one who is stuck. He is not the one who needs to move. God moved before you ever had a problem. He moved through Jesus. Every person who will ever be healed was healed 2 000 years ago through Jesus. Every person who will ever be saved was already forgiven 2 000 years ago through Christ. Every person who will ever be blessed, has joy, peace or whatever, it’s already done (Ephesians 1:3).

Faith is simply our positive response to what God has already done by grace. Faith is not something you do to get God to respond. This is a major misconception in the body of Christ among those who emphasise faith.

You don’t need God to move. You don’t need Him to come and touch you or heal you. God has already provided everything. You can’t make Him do anything. Faith appropriates what God has already provided by grace. If God hasn’t already provided it by grace, then your faith can’t make it happen.

“For assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, Be you removed and be cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore I say to you whatever things you ask when you pray believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:23-24).

This passage has been taught repeatedly by people who emphasise faith. “We have power and authority and there are certain things that we have to do to see God’s will come to pass.” That is true, but it can be taken to an extreme to the point that you believe you can literally “make” God do anything. “Whatsoever you want, just say it! Believe that you receive and God has to do it”.

You will hear people use that kind of terminology as they say “We are going to grab hold of God and not let go until we make the power of God flow”. We see this in the body of Christ right now with much of the prayer and intercession for revival. People believe that God is up there with His arms folded, thinking, “You bunch of hypocrites!” They say God isn’t moving or pouring out His power on people to be saved, healed and delivered because He is upset with us. So what we must do is get people to pray and repent. But He won’t listen to just one or two of us. We have to have hundreds of thousands even millions of people praying. We have to put pressure on God and stay after Him. Let us get on a 24-hour prayer chain and not let go until we just literally badger God and make Him release His power and pour out revival. They may not use these exact words, but that is the attitude that is prevalent in the body of Christ — that we are making God move and pour out His power. That is an affront to God! It is implying that you love people more than He does.

Once you understand the balance of grace and faith, it takes the struggle out of receiving from God. Grace is not something that is going to happen. It is something that has already been done. Jesus already died for the sins of the whole world. He has already died to provide forgiveness of our sins, the healing of our bodies and the deliverance from all these things. It is already done. If Jesus has already died for you and it is already done, how can you doubt that He will do what He has already done? This understanding takes all the struggle out of it.

Many people go to a meeting saying “Oh God, I am just believing that you are going to heal me”. There is an element of doubt in these words. There is uncertainty and anxiety. If it hasn’t already happened, then there is a possibility that it won’t.

When you come to a meeting say, “Father I thank you that I have already been healed. It is already done. I know it is mine and hallelujah, I am receiving”. There is a totally different attitude in a person who is just trusting and relying upon what God has already done versus someone who is trying to get God to do something.

Really, the audacity of people to think that we can make God do things defies logic. Yet, this is basically where religion is today. Religion is trying to force God in a myriad of ways. So we don’t believe He will do it for one, two, or 10 people, then get a 100 000 people. “If we could get so many people praying at the exact same moment, that would put pressure on God and make Him move”. This is pathetic. That is not what these scriptures are teaching.

We need to understand that God by grace, has already done everything. And if He has done it, then it is just a matter of resting in what He has already done. It is just a matter of reaching out by faith to receive it. When you realise that by His stripes you were already healed, then it is easy to say, “If I am already healed, then that means in the spirit realm, I already have this power on the inside of me. You need to quit trying to get healed and start trusting that you have already been healed. There is a huge difference between the two.

If you are struggling and saying, “well, I am trying to believe, but I just don’t know if I will ever get healed”, it is because you don’t understand that faith just appropriates what God has already provided. You are still thinking that God is going to respond to you — that when you do everything correctly, including holding your mouth just right and confessing so many times, then God will release His power. You still think that God is responding to your faith. No, your faith is a response to God’s grace. When you get these things mixed up, you will always be frustrated.

Please remember, you are not trying to get God to do anything. It is not about God giving, it is about you learning how to receive. Once you understand that, it makes the Christian life so simple. The reason you study the Word isn’t so you can earn a star, it is so you can learn what God has already done, what He has already provided.

Dr Doug Mamvura is a graduate of Charis Bible School. Feedback: [email protected] or Twitter @dougmamvura