Divine intervention & human effort.

Talent Ncube.

International Certified Professional Coach.

Author of the book : Healing Bleeding Hearts.

Let me share about the power of understanding divine intervention and human effort. There is power in the combination of divine intervention and human effort. As you pray, be able to draw a demarcation line between what needs direct divine intervention and what needs you to put your effort after praying about it. Prayer does not replace duty and duty does not remove prayer. These are to be intertwined in order for one to get great results. 

God cannot do for us that which He commanded us to do for ourselves under His guidance. Many have been turned away from God because they have seen professed Christians failing to take action where they needed to take action. Instead of taking relevant action they have been seen praying and led down to wait for a miracle where action was needed.

A good example is that of students who are praying to pass their final examinations. No matter how much they pray if they’re not studying, listening to teachers while they teach and not dealing with their mind-set it will be hard for them to make it. After praying they should take an action and study, listen to parents and teachers, this will help them achieve intended results. This combination of prayer and hard work will lead to amazing results. 

There are some of course who trust much in their power and they only remember God when the examination paper has been put in front of them by the invigilator or after they look at the paper and they realise that they know nothing and what they have been studying didn’t come as part of the exam. They just do a short, fast prayer to bribe God so that He helps them to pass but their life has not been a life of prayer. 

In as much as it is good to appreciate yourself that you thought about God and you understood that He is the one who can solve your situation, there are problems you will face in future and I need to address them. 

I also understand that there are some who might have had an experience of doing that and it worked for them but the greater percentage of students have come back facing these challenge. Remember that I am using a student in an exam as an example but the principle applies to everyone.

The moment you do a short prayer seeking for God to intervene it is registered in your mind as a prayer request. The expected answer from your side is a miracle for you to pass. If you don’t pass, there are higher chances that you will accuse GOD of not doing the miracle on your behalf. This is because most of the times when people fail they look for something to blame so that they escape taking responsibility of failure. This is the reason why when students fail they blame teachers, shortage of stationery, parents and so on. 

When you blame God you will stop relying on Him and you would have invited many challenges. You can’t be angry against God and be in full harmony with other people. This is also the same as those who become angry with God after not making it in their final examinations when they spent many days doing all night prayers. Yes you prayed, but you then have to take responsibility of the results you got so that you can correct where you went wrong. It is the devil’s strategy to influence people to blame God after failing in something, he knows that is you are against good you are in his side and it will be hard for you to accept, heal and move on with life.

Another powerful concept in understanding about divine intervention and human effort is knowing what decisions to pray for. This knowledge will help you to understand their role in answered prayer. Some of our prayers have not been answered because of the decisions we have made or because of asking God to bless what He cannot bless. Do you know that we are sometimes responsible of the answers to our prayers? This is one of the privileges we have as human beings. A good example is a person who is praying for good health. 

No matter how much you pray to be healthy if you eat unhealthily the result will be an unhealthy body. If you pray for pork to become beef or chicken you will never open your eyes after prayer to see pork having changed to become beef or chicken. If you choose alcohol instead of water, no matter how much you pray, the consequences of drinking alcohol will come. This shows that a person who prays for God to bless the food he eats has a responsibility to choose nourishing meals and to cook them healthy. Pray enerstly and make decisions that are in line with God’s will, and He will bless you.

These lessons help us to understand more about purpose and character. As we live our God given lives on this earth, the main purpose is to live purposeful lives and fight for His character through Him. The information shared above is the foundation to healing those who are wounded. Once we understand that God is sovereign, that after accepting Him He helps us to discover who we are and helps us to share His righteousness with others and that He leads us into confessing our sins for the perfection of our character, only then will be able to live peacefully and heal from both invited and uninvited challenges. May God bless you as you continue with your journey of healing and your dedication to improve as a person.