Discovering Destiny (Part 31): Pray The Promise, Not The Problem

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-J8-M5JN-U

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

Yesterday, in our “Discovering Destiny” series, we watched Jacob refuse to move until God spoke. Today he is on the road, walking in obedience, and the first thing that meets him is the brother he ran from 20 years ago. Today I want to show you what to do when the word God gave you gets tested.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”

Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”

1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Scripture(s) we will study today:

Genesis 32:9 AMPC“Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord Who said to me, Return to your country and to your people, and I will do you good.”

Genesis 32:12 AMPC“And You said, I will surely do you good and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.”

Supporting scriptures:

Genesis 32:1-2 NLT“As Jacob started on his way again, angels of God came to meet him. When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, ‘This is God’s camp!’ So he named the place Mahanaim.”

Genesis 32:6 ERV“The messengers came back to Jacob and said, ‘We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you, and he has 400 men with him.'”

Genesis 32:7 NLT“Jacob was terrified at the news. He divided his household, along with the flocks and herds and camels, into two groups.”

Genesis 32:10 AMPC“I am not worthy of the least of all the mercy and loving-kindness and all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant. For with [only] my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.”

Isaiah 43:26 AMPC“Put Me in remembrance [remind Me of your merits]; let us plead and argue together. Set forth your case, that you may be justified (proved right).”

Numbers 23:19 NLT“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”

Psalm 34:4 NLT“I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.”

Hebrews 4:16 AMPC“Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favor to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need.”

2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT“For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’ And through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means ‘Yes’) ascends to God for his glory.”

Setting the Stage:

Jacob obeyed. He gathered his wives, his children, his flocks, and 20 years of increase, and he pointed the whole caravan toward home. He had not seen his brother in two decades. The last time these two men stood in the same place, Esau was planning to kill him.

On the road, before one word of bad news ever reached him, angels of God came to meet him. Genesis 32:1-2 NLT says he exclaimed, “This is God’s camp!” and he named that place Mahanaim, which means TWO CAMPS. Slow down and see what he saw. Camp one was his own: wives, children, servants, flocks, everything he could count with his eyes. Camp two was God’s: angels, heaven’s army, standing on the same road he was walking. This is Bethel all over again, only bigger. At Bethel, he saw a ladder and an open heaven while he was running for his life with nothing but a stick in his hand. At Mahanaim, he sees an army while he is walking home with a household. The blessing did not stay at Bethel. It traveled with him. That first “two camps” was encouragement. God was saying, “You are not walking into this alone.”

Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to feel out his brother, and they came back with the news nobody wanted: “He is coming to meet you, and he has 400 men with him.” Genesis 32:7 NLT says, “Jacob was terrified at the news.” Now watch what a terrified man does next. He took his own household, his own flocks, his own herds, and he cut them into two groups, figuring that if Esau struck one, the other one could run. That was not worship. That was a survival plan. He was doing the math on how to save half of his family.

Do not confuse the two. The first two camps came from revelation. The second two camps came from fear. Mahanaim never meant “divide your stuff.” Mahanaim meant “you already have backup.” God showed him an army standing WITH him, and then a report about an army coming AGAINST him got louder than what he had just seen with his own eyes. Same man. Same road. Same day. He went from counting on God’s camp to carving up his own.

Then he did the one thing that changed the entire encounter. He prayed. And he did not open that prayer with Esau. He opened it with what God said. That is the turn, and that is where I want to take you today: from managing two camps out of fear, back to relying on the camp God already put on the road with you.

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. God Sent Help Before The Bad News Ever Came.

Watch the order of events. The angels met Jacob on the road BEFORE the messengers came back with the report about Esau. God did not send the escort after the crisis hit. He sent it out ahead of the crisis, while Jacob was still walking and everything still looked normal. I spent 25 years in the Army, and I can tell you this: the advance party always moves out before the main body does. God operates the same way. By the time Jacob heard “400 men,” he had already seen God’s camp with his own eyes. That is the only reason a terrified man could still open his mouth and pray.

How this applies to you:

— God did not send the angels after the bad news. He sent them before it.

— Jacob was standing between two camps, and when the pressure hit, he went right back to counting only one of them. His flesh caused him to fear.

— Mahanaim was not an instruction. It was information. God was not telling Jacob what to do; He was showing Jacob that He was with him. When God reassures us of his presence, he does so to remind us of his peace and power. 

— Some of you have been begging God to show up. But He already showed up. If you are born again, God is in you, and you take him everywhere you go.

— You are never outnumbered when you count both camps (meaning, you count on the presence of God).

— Elisha’s servant walked outside in Dothan, saw the Syrian army surrounding the city, and panicked. Elisha looked at the same army and never flinched, because he could also see the hills full of horses and chariots of fire. He did not pray for God to send help. He prayed for the young man’s eyes to open, because the help was already there.

— Here is the main point I am making: The help was already on the road before the trouble was ever announced. Before you ever hear what is coming against you, God has already prepared you for what is coming.

— The news may have been a surprise to you, but it was not a surprise to God, so rest in that. 

2. Being In The Will Of God Does Not Mean The Road Will Be Easy.

Here is what I do not want you to miss. Jacob is exactly where God told him to be, doing exactly what God told him to do, and an army still got in his way. God said, “Return to the land of your father, and I will be with you.” God never said, “and nobody will meet you on the way.” Obedience does not remove the opposition. Obedience puts you in a position for God to be God on your behalf. There had to be a moment when Jacob looked at that report and thought, “I finally do the right thing, and this is what I get?” If you have ever had that thought, this point is for you.

How this applies to you:

— God promised His presence. He never promised an easy road.

— God never said it would be easy. God never promised you a perpetual picnic. God just promised to be with you every step of the way. 

— You can be in the perfect will of God and in the fight of your life at the same time.

— Jacob was terrified, and God never scolded him for it. He did not deny the fear. He just refused to let fear do his praying.

— Jesus was in the perfect will of God, and the boat was still taking on water while he was sleeping. His disciples even thought they were going to die. 

— Paul was right in the center of God’s will, and the ship still broke apart on the rocks.

— Joseph was in the will of God, and he still wound up in a pit, in Potiphar’s house, and in a prison, all before he finally reached the palace. 

— Psalm 34:4 NLT says, “I prayed to the LORD, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.” Notice the order. The fear did not leave before he prayed. It left when he prayed.

— Opposition is not evidence that you missed God. Sometimes it is evidence that you’re right in the center of God’s will. 

— Read Genesis 32:7 one more time. It does not say Jacob divided the camp because he was wise. It says he divided it because he was terrified.

— Fear will always hand you a plan, and it tries to do so before you pray. Jacob had the whole strategy built before he said one word to God.

— If the enemy can convince you that resistance means you missed God, he can talk you right out of your assignment.

— Do not allow yourself to be confused. Jacob knew that he was doing what God told him to do. That’s what you have to remind yourself.

— When you know that you’re doing what God told you to do, then when opposition comes, you have to believe God’s grace is on your life for it. Just say to yourself, “I have the grace for this because I’m doing what God told me to do.” Never give up, never cave in, never quit. By the grace of God, you will push through it. 

3. He Opened His Prayer With What God Said.

Now we get to the heart of it. Jacob had every reason to open that prayer with panic, and he did not. Genesis 32:9 AMPC: “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, the Lord Who said to me, Return to your country and to your people, and I will do you good.” He did not start with “help.” He started with “You said.” Faith is not talking God into something He is reluctant to do. Faith is agreeing out loud with what God has already said. 

How this applies to you:

— Fear had him managing two camps of his own. Prayer put him back in front of the God who already had one on the road with him.

— Jacob built the prayer on the word, and the word came before the request.

— Prayer is not informing God about your problem. It is in agreement with His promises.

— He closed that prayer the same way he opened it. Genesis 32:12 AMPC: “And You said, I will surely do you good.” The word held both ends of the prayer.

— Isaiah 43:26 AMPC says, “Put Me in remembrance; let us plead and argue together. Set forth your case.” God is not offended when you bring His word back to Him. He invites it.

— But here is a key point: You cannot pray a promise you never took the time to learn. This is why you must get the Word of God down in your heart. You must meditate day and night, because when the pressure is on, you don’t have time to go look for a Bible. You need to be able to pray the Word from memory. You need to be able to do what Jacob did. Open up your mouth and say, “Father, you said…” 

— Numbers 23:19 NLT asks the question that ends every argument: “Has he ever promised and not carried it through?”

— When you pray the PROBLEM, you meditate on the PROBLEM. When you pray the PROMISE, you meditate on the PROMISE. And what you meditate on is what grows in your life.

— When you’re facing something difficult, always go back to the word. Put God in remembrance of it. Pray His promises over your life. 

4. He Never Told God He Deserved It.

This is the part that makes Jacob’s prayer a grace prayer and not a religious one. Right in the middle of asking God to deliver him, he says this in Genesis 32:10 AMPC: “I am not worthy of the least of all the mercy and loving-kindness and all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant.” Then he asked anyway. He did not pretend he had earned it. He did not list his good works. He never brought up 20 years of hard labor in Laban’s field. He did not argue that he deserved it. He argued that God promised it. That is how a son talks to his Father.

How this applies to you:

— You will never be worthy enough, and you were never supposed to be.

— Jacob built his case on God’s faithfulness instead of his own performance, and that is the only foundation that matters.

— Jacob remembered where he started: “with only my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two companies.” The man who crossed that river with nothing but a stick now had so much that it took two companies to hold it.

— Look back at what God has already done. It will build your faith for what you are believing Him for right now.

— You do not qualify for the promise. Jesus qualified you.

— Hebrews 4:16 AMPC tells us to come “fearlessly and confidently and boldly” to the throne of grace. Grace is the reason you can still ask boldly on your worst day. It’s not about you. It’s all about him!

— Religion tells you to wait until you feel worthy, and if that is the case, you will be waiting for the rest of your life.

— 2 Corinthians 1:20 NLT says every promise of God has a “Yes” on it in Christ. That answer was settled at the cross, long before you ever opened your mouth to pray. What God is looking for is the “Amen” from you. When you pray, you’re not asking God to do something new. You’re coming in agreement with what you believe he already destined.  

I will close with this point. In 1 John 5, the Apostle John tells us that we can have confidence when we pray. I will give it to you in the RPV (Rick Piña Version).

“This is a confidence that we have in him: when you pray for anything in accordance with his will, two things happen: God hears us, and we already have it.”

In this way, we’re actually praying back to God the prayers he’s already prayed over us. This is how our prayers connect to our destiny.

That’s enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that You have already spoken over my life!

I do not pray the problem; I pray the promise!

You said it, and that settles it for me!

You are not a man, so You cannot lie!

Your camp is on the road with me before the trouble ever arrives!

I am never outnumbered, because I count both camps!

Opposition on the road does not mean I missed Your voice!

I come boldly, not because I am worthy, but because Jesus is!

I bring Your word back to You, and You perform it!

Fear may show up, but fear does not do my praying!

In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, I pray Your promise, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!