Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Some years ago, my wife and I were going through some financial straits as God was training us for ministry. In answer to our prayers, she was offered a trainee job by her employers, but this job required her to further her studies. The departmental policy in place at the time was that the employers would bear fifty percent of the cost while the employee would bear the rest. We knew at this time that we could not afford even ten percent of the course fee much less talk of the fifty percent. So we started praying for God’s favour to make a way for us to pay the course fees. As expected, God answered our prayer, but in an unexpected way.
Some days after we prayed, my wife’s departmental manager called her into his office and told her in confidence that he and his boss were having a discussion about her and have decided that they would like to sponsor her above the stipulated fifty percent. However, since no final decision on the level of the sponsorship has yet been reached, he could not at that point tell her what percentage of the fees the department would be paying, but promised to let her know the final decision once it was made.
When my wife returned home that evening and narrated her discussion with her boss, the Holy Spirit just brought to my mind the words ‘Open your mouth wide and I will fill it’. However before I opened my mouth, I first asked my wife what percentage of the course fee she was hoping the department would foot and she replied seventy-five percent. I then asked her, ‘Why not believe for a hundred percent support, since it is with the same breathe that you pronounced seventy-five percent that you would also say a hundred percent.’ She responded by saying that she did not have enough faith to believe for the full amount. So I told her that I have enough faith and would believe the Lord for a hundred percent support because God has expressly commanded me to open my mouth wide and that He would fill it.
The following evening, my wife came bounding excitedly home with the welcome news that her bosses had finally decided to fully sponsor her for the course. The only proviso was that she should not divulge this arrangement to anyone in the department since it was against the department’s policy on the sponsorship of staff for further education. The beauty of this testimony is that on the same course in the same school were three other students from the same department who had paid fifty percent of their own course fees.
As a result of our opening our mouths and speaking in faith, God caused my wife’s bosses to momentarily suspend unfavourable departmental policy to accommodate our desire to see the fruition of our words. I would have you know that the same God is just as willing to suspend natural or any man-made laws in response to your bold commands of faith. He wants and in fact longs to do just that in order to transform your dream into a reality. This testimony should therefore encourage you to open your mouth wide to the fullest extent in the full expectation that God would indeed fill it.
Prayer:
Lord, do build up my faith in you to enable me to see beyond my limitations. Help me to not just acknowledge your limitlessness, but to also experience it in my life. Amen.