Considering the fact that the Bible tells us to ‘pray without ceasing’ you probably should actually start praying more rather then stopping, but that’s not really the point here.

This is something that God has been teaching me for years already but I didn’t realize that I was actually learning something at the time.

Do you ever pray and Pray and PRAY and feel like you get no results?

I have done that, and found it rather frustrating.

God I need more patience.

God I really need more patience!

After countless pleas for patience and seemingly no answer, I rephrased my requests.

God, I am too impatient, what do I need to do?

“Choose patience.” Is all he had to say.

What?!

Saved or not saved?

I had this big dilemma after I made the decision to follow Jesus.

I was fine and believed that my salvation experience was real when things were going well, but it took the tiniest incidents to make me doubt it.

One night in a state of despair I was discussing this issue with God. “How do I know if it’s really real?”

His answer surprised me.

He told me to go back to that moment in my life and remember it. “Was it real then?”

Not a hard question to answer. “Yes, it was definitely very real then.”

Then it’s still real today. However the enemy wants to convince you that it wasn’t real, and by doubting and questioning you give him a place in your life, you’re giving him the right to make you doubt.

You need to trust me (Jesus) not the devil and you need to choose to believe that it was real.

Got that?

It was a choice I had to make.

I could choose to believe that I was saved because I knew I was, or I could choose to let the devil continue to derail me.

After that moment when I made the decision to believe that I was saved and not allow myself to question  it, I never again had any doubts.

It was a battle won.

The same was true when I prayed for patience. I already had access to it, but I wasn’t choosing it.

Recently my prayer was for joy.

God, help me find joy even when life becomes complicated.

He said, “Choose joy.”

What?! Why’s it always up to me?!

God then took me on a journey where he taught me how to choose joy.

Recently though he has been teaching me more about choosing things.

You see, you already own it.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Read that verse again.

Did you see it?

The old has passed away. IT’S GONE!

Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.

Because we have the Holy Spirit living inside us, our old fears and ugliness has passed away and we became a new creation.

Because we have the Holy Spirit living inside us we have direct access to whatever we need.

If we need more patience, we don’t need to ask for it because we already have it. We have 24/7 access to all the patience we need, we simply need to choose to use it.

I’m not actually trying to say that we should stop asking God for things because we definitely need his help.

If you’re feeling impatient, talk to God about it, ask him for his help in choosing to be patient because the bottom line is: we can’t actually do it on our own but neither is he going to do it for us.

He gives us the tools we need but he lets us operate them.

If I ask for joy, he will give me all the joy I want but it’s still up to me then to choose to accept it.

So please do keep praying, but at the same time…

Start choosing as well.