FAITH CAPSULES: Fear is not of God but sinks one with no faith. 

2 Kings 6

Among forces that will reduce one as it reduces many in the Bible is giving self to fear instead of having faith in God.
From the book of Genesis to Revelation, there are recordings of ones in position or walked in the nearness of God but yet give self to fear ignorantly.
For example, lack of clarity of sight physically, spiritually by the servant of Elisha aroused fear of the enemy that reduced him but, the prayer of Elisha delivered him not to end life wasted. 
2 Kings 6:15-17 documents the fear of enemies by the servant of Elisha and the intervention of the prayer of Elisha, “And when the servant of the man of God arose early and went out, there was an army, surrounding the city with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 16 So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” 
Fear is not of God belongs to the wicked one as a weapon to reduce one to destroy. When the spirit of fear strikes, faith sinks.
In a journey with Jesus, the disciples gave themselves to fear and their faith experienced with sinking.
When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the sea, fear settled in them because they could not recognize Him. 
Jesus spoke boldness for them to be calm.
The disciples could not come out of fear when Peter asked to walk on the sea as Jesus did.
Matthew 14:28-32 records, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.”
When faith is not in place, fear will strike to reduce and sink one.
Every documentation in the Bible testifies that with prayer, challenges to be reduced shall experience deliverance to live life for the glory of God.
With a desire to live life for God, search yourself and know if there is wickedness with agenda to deny, delay or destroy not to live life for God.

Prayer for today: Pray against forces that reduce not to live life for God.

FAITH CAPSULES: What is reducing you that you know or not know?

2 Kings 5

What reduces one not to live life for God denies delays distracts or destroys.
Whatever reduces one is not of God and will not let one live life in the calling of God. 
A force that reduces one does not announce itself or excuse anyone from being reduced.
Are you being reduced consciously or unconsciously?
Sometimes answering names, or diseases can be the catalysts that reduce one not to rise for God.
Many in the Bible got reduced in the journey of life.
The name of Jabez reduced him until he prayed against the meaning of his name.
1 Chronicle 4:9-10 documents Jabez and his challenge against force in his name that reduce him, “Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain.” 10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested.” 
God answers prayer to visit with salvation.
God is a merciful God that does not order wrong for His creation that seeks Him for intervention. 
Jabez called on God, and God granted him what he requested.
God does not forget. Remind God His word, and He will answer without fail. Isaiah 43:26 record the promise of God to remind Him with a prayer of faith, “Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted.”
Jabez rose and not reduced.
The force that reduces Naaman is his mark of disease and the spirit of anger that prompted his furiousness.
2 Kings 5:1 records about Naaman, “Now Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great and honorable man in the eyes of his master because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was also a mighty man of valor but a leper.
Imagine Naaman, a man with victory by Lord but yet reduced by a disease that he could not hide.
For Naaman, the mark of disease of leprosy that reduces him also had the spirit of anger rooted in furiousness against the direction for his healing by Elisha, the prophet of God. 
2 Kings 5:8-11 records the anger of Naaman, “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…”
Just like a disease as the force which reduces Naaman, the spirit of anger also reduced Naaman.
Naaman walked away from the direction to get healed, from the disease that reduced him because of his anger.
With re-direction from a servant Naaman eventually went for his healing not to be reduced, to die life of waste.

Prayer for today: Ask against the “but” in your life that you will rise to the glory of God.

FAITH CAPSULES: God is a God of time and process.

Psalm 37

Psalm 37:7 records, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.”
A psalm of David records, “I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.”
To be waiting before God demands knowing the timing of God, which is the key not to weary in waiting before God.
James 5:7 confirms the importance of waiting by the time of God, “…See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.”
The timing of God is crucial not to weary when waiting on God.
God is a God of time and process. 
The time of God is not the same as the time of man, and the process of God is not like the process of man. 
The time of God is perfect, and His process is a preparation for where He has time for everyone to be. 
Waiting on God can be described as to remain unmoving, inactive, or in a state of repose, as until expected manifests. 
Waiting on God is also putting off further activity until later. 
Waiting on God usually entails staying for a short or long time by God for a definite purpose, that is, for something expected. 
Without absolute trust in waiting on God, there will be no result emerging from waiting on God. 
The Psalmist testifies, “O my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; Let those be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause.” (Psalm 25:2-3) 
Trusting in God is rooted in waiting on Him. 
Trusting in God does have blessings, and not trusting in Him will also generate curses. God spoke in Jeremiah 17:5, “…Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.”  
As regard blessing in trusting, the same word of God states in Jeremiah 17:7, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord.” 
How can you wait on God when you are not trusting Him continually the evidence of having hope in Him? 
To trust is not the same as one that trusts.
He who trusts in the Lord is trusting God continually, the evidence of having hope.
There is a consequence when waiting on God to know and move by the time of God.
Waiting on God will reveal a need to make changes to identify corrections where one is doing wrong in the right place.
UZZAH did wrong in the place of doing right to experience sudden death.
At the time of the return of the Ark of God from the house of Abinadab, the violation of unintentional Uzzah was an error that cost him life. 
Uzzah touched the Ark of God against the command of God. 
Waiting on God before going out or coming will deliver not to become a victim of ERROR, the experience of UZZAH. (2 Samuel 6)

Prayer for today: Ask not to live a life of waste.

FAITH CAPSULES: In your journey of life, desire for the hand of God. 

Ezra 8

Joshua 4:24 records, “that all the peoples of the earth may know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.” 
The book of Ezra repeatedly testifies to the hand of God seeing the Israelites through the journey of life. Ezra 8:31 states, “…And the hand of our God was upon us, and He delivered us from the hand of the enemy and from ambush along the road.” 
In your journey of life, desire for the hand of God. 
In the hand of God, there is an answer for deliverance and preservation.
Prayerfully, continually, know to ask for the hand of God.
The word of God encourages all to give themselves continually to prayer and the ministering of the word. 
Why not pray the word of God that does not return to Him void?
Ask God to extend His hand upon you, as the word testifies the hand of God as deliverance and preservation in the pages of the Bible. 
God is not a partial God to deny your prayer of understanding but will answer yes, no, or wait. 
God is not talkative, and the only thing God cannot do is that God cannot fail.
Matthew 7:7 speaks to all, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” 
Ask that your God-given moments in life shall extend His stretch-out hand to strike all forces with an evil plan in your life. 
The hand of God did not fail when it brought the children of Israel out of the bondage of over four hundred years. God is not a partial God, and He will not fail to answer your calling for His stretch hand.
In these coming days, weeks, and years, whatever it is that holds one down not to gain motion, experiencing stagnation, the stretch-out hand of God shall answer and not deny you in the name of Jesus. 
Exodus 3: 19-20 records the word of God for the deliverance of Israel, 
” But I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My wonders…”  
There is no mighty hand that will militate against you when the stretch-out hand of God answers to strike whatever represents Egypt in your life. 
From today, prayerfully meditate for the stretch-out hand of God for deliverance and preservation.
Is it your desire to experience the stretch-out hand of God over your life?

Prayer for today: Ask that God shall look upon you and your family to acknowledge all your endeavor in the name of Jesus.

FAITH CAPSULES: Know to watch and pray, not wailing with empty noise.

1 Peter 4 

Waiting on God to experience His presence, to receive expectation demands watching and praying unceasingly.
There is no place that the word demands praying without watching or watching without praying.
What is your prayer of expectation like in your life?
Repeatedly, the word of God asks to watch and pray, not wailing (prolong cry) to provoke with empty noise but to remind God by His word that does not return void to Him.
Engage watch and pray, though like labor, but continually is with the expectation to experience the hand of God. 
Watch and pray, always before God!
To watch and pray is what Jesus repeatedly urges in His words.
As a believer in God, with faith to receive demands watching and praying the evidence of one with expectation for manifestation.
Are you watching and praying as Jesus urges in His word or worrying in the ground of praying before God?
Entering the labor room of prayer should not be with a mind centered on worrying. Seek before God always with expectation for manifestation the evidence of watching and praying.
To be watching and praying is giving attention to God for His visitation.
Watching and praying is listening to hear from God and not speaking over the word of God that visits with an answer.
Watching and praying is to seek and see the move of God at the time of His visitation in response to calling on Him.
Watching and praying is not a time of standing as a spectator or taking a position to be carried away with the challenges of the wicked world.
Are you worrying about burdens and heavy-loaded, not watching and praying?
Jesus demonstrated the nature-labor of praying in Luke 22:44, “And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.”
Watching and praying demands consistency and is not convenient but can be loaded with physical, emotional, or spiritual labor.
Watching and praying with expectation for the manifestation is with the character of living life to the glory of God. 
What is your approach to engaging the presence of God for the manifestation of your expectation?
Approaching the prayer room with no preparation to experience God is evidence of a casual attitude.
Attitude is an action that demonstrates the faith of one seeking God in watching and praying to experience the manifestation of expectation.
Jesus, in His word of direction, repeatedly emphasized watching and praying, and the Bible records: 
Matthew 26:41, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Mark 13:33, “Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.”
Peter also admonishes watching and praying.
1 Peter 4:7 records, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore, be serious and watchful in your prayers”
Always watching and praying is the direction for all not to become the victim of evil occurrences in the wicked world.

Prayer for today: Ask to know living life by watching and praying continually.