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![64344: When He Doesn"t Believe: Help and Encouragement for Women Who Feel Alone in Their Faith](http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/64344.gif "64344: When He Doesn"t Believe: Help and Encouragement for Women Who Feel Alone in Their Faith")
Day Three: Believing Like Abraham
Welcome to day three of our week of fasting and prayer. I know many of you have joined us in praying and even fasting for your spouses. I'd like to encourage you to continue, in whatever form God is leading you, to keep your vigil going.
For the sake of simplicity for my family as we continue through the final stages of my daughter's treatment (and she's doing great, praise God!), I chose to fast through my first meal of the day and devote my morning quiet time to seeking God's will for this next year. The emphasis of course is for my sweet hubby, who seems even more set in his atheism than ever. My faith choices have even come under more scrutiny of late.
So, I'd like to share some of what God is showing me through this time of fasting to encourage you to keep going, and most importantly, to keep believing. I've signed my posts with the words "praying and believing" since I joined Lynn here (still such an honor!) and I will be honest, there have been times typing those words didn't come easy.
Sometimes disbelief has a way of sneaking in. Then we find ourselves doubting, wondering if we ever really had things straight, heard God correctly, or missed the mark somehow. It's so easy to find ourselves in these dry places when we keep praying and don't see any changes.
For two days I've been hearing God say, "Believe like Abraham." And I believe this is a message for all of us. I sense deeply that God is calling us to take our faith to the next level and truly believe Him for the things we're asking in his will—for the salvation of our loved ones, and many other things.
You know, we can have great faith and trust in certain areas, yet doubt in others. I'm realizing I have great faith when it comes to trusting God for my loved ones—for my husband's salvation, for my youngest daughter's complete healing from cancer. Yet my faith wavers a bit in the small areas. The little things.
But God is calling us to believe like Abraham in all things. To take that step of faith and say, "Yes God, I believe you are in the middle of this, and I am praising and thanking you now for what you're about to do." To pray for a unbelieving spouse as if he or she were already saved...
Spend your fasting and prayer time today first, confessing any unbelief that has found it's way into your heart. Like the father asking for his son's healing said to Christ, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24)
Then ask God to grow your faith. Ask Him to show you a Scripture for this week that you can memorize and use as a reminder that Christ is the author and perfecter of our faith, and will therefore increase it. We need simply to ask.
Praying is the beginning of the journey, belief is the completion. Let's make 2009 the year we believe like never before.
Praying and believing (and typed with trust),
Dineen
Love this-such clarity and honesty...thank you dear one.
I'm with you-praying and believing.
Hugs, Noreen
Posted by: Noreen | January 06, 2009 at 07:45 AM
Beautifully expressed. I need to set a time aside and fast and pray, too. It really is a beautiful way to be with God and allow him to truly abide in us.
Posted by: gretchen | January 06, 2009 at 11:04 AM
I like that about asking God to increase your faith. I do believe this is a great time of change requiring great faith. I know God can do the impossible. And I choose to trust Him. Thank you for your words about what you're learning at this time. You've been through a lot with your daughter too. I'll be praying.
Posted by: Debbie Petras | January 06, 2009 at 05:02 PM
Love you, Noreen!
Posted by: Dineen Miller | January 06, 2009 at 08:31 PM
Thank you, Debbie! Sure appreciate your prayers.
Posted by: Dineen Miller | January 06, 2009 at 08:32 PM
Hope your fast and prayer time was fruitful today, Gretchen! :-)
Posted by: Dineen Miller | January 06, 2009 at 08:33 PM
Dineen,
How amazing! Just before I logged on and read your post today I was reading Genesis 15. God has just told Abram, who is already very old, that he will have a son and his descendants will outnumber the stars. Verse 6 stood out to me and I had journaled about it specifically because I have trouble remembering and believing in even God's small promises to me Yet after all of what God revealed to a man almost 100 year old verse 6 says "Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness."
In fact my exact words in my journal were "And what does Abram do when he hears this amazingly outlandish promise? He believes! Oh, Lord that is the faith I desire, a simple faith that just Believes because You said it!"
Then after writing that I bring up SUM and what do I see? Your post - "Believing like Abraham"
Amazing - thank you for sharing!
Posted by: Ang | January 06, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Dineen,
I also was reading yesterday in my daily Bible the accounts of Abraham and then I logged on here and.... Dineen, this message was written just for me.
Thank you.... Remember what we talked about yesterday, Abraham believed and God credited him as righteous. Neat.. neat.. Hugs
Posted by: Lynn | January 07, 2009 at 09:55 AM
Sounds like we're all doing the Bible in a Year reading plan. Boy, when God moves... :-) Very cool.
Posted by: Dineen Miller | January 07, 2009 at 01:51 PM
Hey, I am always so encouraged when I see your name pop up. Sending you a
hug today. me
<http://unequalmarriage.typepad.com/> Spiritually Unequal Marriage
Posted by: Lynn | January 09, 2009 at 09:43 AM