Countless promises are written in God's Word to us. At times, some specific promises are directly highlighted to us as rhema during our study. Other times, specific aspects of God's plan are revealed with detailed insights through ministers of God or mentors. Often, we berate ourselves or blame God for our failure to realize certain dreams or the delayed manifestation of these promises or prophecies. But we have to understand that the enemy of our souls is not excited to see our testimonies or breakthroughs unfold. Left to him alone, our expectations, aspirations and prophetic declarations would fail so that God's love and purposes would not be revealed to mankind. For this reason, we cannot just relax and passively expect our prophetic promises to happen. We have to intentionally pursue, guard, call forth and prepare for the fulfillment of God's Word and plans for our lives.
Timothy, a budding minister of Christ with great potential, had some prophecies spoken over his life. And in our anchor text, Paul admonishes him to wage a good warfare with or concerning those prophetic words. Is that necessary? I thought God had said them and thus He should do them or the prophecies must just come to pass. Apparently not. Paul reveals that we must contend for these promises or be inspired by these words in our 'fight' of faith.
We are often unwilling or unable to persist in prayer concerning the great plans God has for us. But, especially because of the forces of darkness and the will of humans involved in their fulfillment, we cannot relegate prayer to the background. In this respect, in the next verse Paul addresses two obstacles often encountered when building a consistent prayer life: doubt (or unbelief) and guilt.
"To do this you must hold firmly to faith
and a good conscience , which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith.
" (1 Timothy 1:19). We must fuel our faith by constant revision of God's word and be prompt in holy living and repentance so we're not outwitted by the enemy.
Many years ago, I had the opportunity to do my 1-year national service in a reputable company. I was posted there by the National Service Secretariat but the company had the right to either reject or accept me depending on the number of vacancies. I had no contact persons there and having left another good company for this one there was a risk of losing my place. In fact, a concerned colleague asked what my plan was if I was asked to go for reposting and I sincerely had no backup plan. I had prayed about my national service assignment and I was convicted about the company I was posted to. So, I went ahead and submitted my forms to my NSS assigned company as I was not ready to lobby for changes.
For almost three weeks, I didn’t get any feedback from this company and when I followed up I was told they will call us. One night, I had a dream and I saw the Human Resource manager and another HR personnel discussing to take me out of the program. I was alarmed when I awoke and started praying. I kept praying throughout the week about this placement using the promises of God in the scriptures. To my surprise, another colleague who had submitted his application two weeks before me was rather called for reposting to another company. Clearly, God came through for me. Too many people miss out on what God has for them because they neglect to contend for it in prayer. If something is in line with God’s will and plan for your life, then you have the right and duty to contend for it.
There is so much wisdom we can glean from the accounts on Christ's birth on this subject. Prior to the birth of Jesus, there were two key people praying for him. In Luke 2:25-38, we learn that Simeon, a devout Spirit-filled man, had been waiting for this Consolation of Israel, the birth of the Christ. Anna, a prophetess who was a widow for about eighty four years, had also been fasting and praying day and night for the manifestation of the promised Messiah. Was it necessary to raise intercessors for the brith of God's own Son? Wisdom reveals we must pray till will see the physical manifestation of our promises.
One other person who played a crucial role in the fulfillment of prophecies concerning Jesus was his mother. Whenever Mary heard promises or statements concerning the assignments of Jesus, she hid them in her heart and pondered them (Luke 2:19 & 51). What was she doing with those words? I believe she was treasuring them, brooding over them, envisioning them and constantly praying, "Be it unto me and unto my son, Jesus, according to your Word."
Prophet James W. Goll said, “In between the positions of the promise revealed and the promise fulfilled, there is a gap called the "until clause.” Sadly, this is when many just sit and do nothing expecting the glorious promise to happen to them. It is better to steward the promise through prayer than to do nothing at all expecting it to just happen because God said it. Therefore, I try as much as possible to steward the words I receive from the Lord for others with prayer. I have also learnt to remain conscious of the fact that Jesus is interceding for us and we have to follow His cue.
Maybe your current situation does not align with the wild promises in Scripture or the prophecies spoken about your life. You may rather have a negative medical report, a termination letter, something that is disturbing your peace. That is a sign that you need to contend for those wild promises because your circumstances are contrary to what the Lord has said. Sometimes, when we do not know what to pray again, we can speak the promises in Scripture out loudly or simply pray, "Lord, let your perfect will be done". At the toughest moment in Jesus' life, He simply prayed, "Father, let you will be done."
Prayer changes things and if we want to see God’s promises and prophecies fulfilled in our lives we have to contend for them with prayer, faith, a good conscience, constant declarations of His promise and earnest expectation. Throughout this fast, God will remind you of His promises and plans for you. Do well to write them down, ponder them and keep reminding Him about them till they manifest in your life.