Nothing is out of reach when you put your heart into it. Think about it. Who sets boundaries and limits in your life? We tend to define ourselves; establish our own boundaries. With God, there are no boundaries, only greatness. It is easy to forget who we are and why we are here. It is easy to get caught up in daily grind and lose sight of end reward; however we must always remember to where we are going.

You were chosen by God, created to fulfill His dreams and purpose. Often times so much focus is placed upon ourselves and our own objectives, we forget reason for which we were created. Just as you dream, He also dreams. Long before you were created, God had a dream and from this dream came your marathon. For His purpose, you were created. Throughout Bible, God refers to race and gives a specific training recipe for victory. Are you ready to be a champion for Him?

First, you must go into strict training in preparation for race:

Do you know that in a race all runners run, but only one gets prize? Run in such a way to get prize. Everyone who competes in games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it for a crown that will last forever. Therefore do not run like a man aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I will not be disqualified for prize. 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27

These verses tell us that race will not be easy. It will take hard work, discipline, sharp focus and sacrifice. Sure, it would be easier to sit on sidelines and be a cheerleader for others. But, I challenge you to join race and discover what great things God has dreamed for you.

William James said, “Most people never run far enough on their first wind, to find out what they have on their second.” The race will be tough and you will face many difficult challenges. Remain steadfast on your journey. You will tire, but do not give up. You will struggle, but persevere. I challenge you to look inside yourself and find your second wind. Develop yourself and your skills to success. Prayer, study and worship will help you develop stamina and excitement for race, even when you think your tank is empty.

Second, you must turn all of your strength and energy toward winning race.

Not that I have already obtained this, or have been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Jesus Christ took hold of me. I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press toward goal to win prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 3:12-13

Terry Dashner Faith Fellowship Church PO Box 1586, Broken Arrow, OK 74013

Have you ever had a pressing need in your life and prayed with all your might that God would answer you quickly? Have you ever been disappointed when answer failed to materialize? If your answer to these questions is yes then you might be interested in what I’m going to share with you.

God is a gracious God who longs to fellowship with us. He has created us for His glory (Isa.43:7), and He delights in blessing us. He wants to bless us so that He can demonstrate His magnificent glory to entire world. With that said, it is important to know that God wants us to pray. Also, He wants to answer our prayers. So this begs questions: If God wants us to pray, wants us to have answers, then why doesn’t He answer all our prayers?

What I’m about to share with you did not come from a text book. I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned about answered prayers from years of praying, petitioning, interceding, and living (sometimes struggling) through Christian walk.

One thing I’ve learned is that God does answer prayers but not always immediately or in way I think they should be answered. Let me illustrate this. There is an ancient parable taught in some countries that underscores importance of children obeying their parents.

The story is told of a father and son who journey to woods one day. After some time in forest father decides to sit down for a rest. The boy, on other hand, is not ready to rest and decides to climb a large tree. Going higher and higher, from limb to limb boy suddenly stops climbing and turns towards his father who is resting below. Just as boy calls out to his father, father jumps to his feet and tells his son to come down immediately. The boy disheartened, but nonetheless obedient, moves down tree quickly.

When boy asks his father why he had been ordered down, his father points to a large branch just above perch where he had been only moments before. There on branch and within striking distance of boy’s earlier perch, was a large viper coiled around a large branch. If boy had climbed higher and had disturbed snake, he could have been fatally wounded by its venom.

What this parable teaches is relative to our relationship with our heavenly Father. From our position in life, sometimes it’s difficult to see what lies ahead. But from Father’s advantage point, He sees everything. Oftentimes He will test our obedience by telling us to “wait” or telling us “no.” We might think He is insensitive to our feelings or putting on us too much to bear at time; however, later with His loving grace He reveals to us His wisdom in His answer.

I’ve learned through these times not to question God or to doubt His trustworthiness. He is always looking out for my good just like father in ancient parable. He might not answer me way I think He should, but I’m usually made aware later of His infinite wisdom in doing what He did or way He did it. Glory!

I’ve also learned from years of praying (for things) that God is more concerned about me fellowshipping with Him than He is about giving me “things.” Someone once said that it’s okay to have “things” just don’t let “things” have you. That’s point of God delaying or denying me “things.” I’ll try to explain it better this way. Yes, I’m like you and want nice things. In Matthew’s Gospel (Matt.6:33) it talks about desire of my Heavenly Father to give me many things; however, before He will give me things, He will first make sure that I’m mature enough to handle things. For example, although my son wanted to drive my car when he was 12, I didn’t throw keys to him and say, “Sure son, take her for a spin.” Of course he had to grow to maturity and procure a drivers license before I would let him drive.