Promises of God

Trusting that God knows better than we do in our humanity and limited power must be central in the thoughts and minds of believers. James says that we must sincerely believe God and not doubt when we pray if we should expect any blessing or answer from God (James 1:5-7). Proverbs promises that God will 'make our paths straight' if we trust in Him (Proverbs 3:5-6).

This leads to questions about the basis of this trust in God. Should we believe that God will answer every request we have as we requested? Should we always expect a clear answer? In my own life I have seen prayers answered as I requested, and I have seen prayers that are yet unanswered after years. This leads me to pray knowing that the answer may be silent, may not be answered, or may take time and patience before an answer. In what way then should believers pray with trust knowing that the answer may be contrary to our prayer or seem unanswered?

Praying with confidence must begin with knowing what God has promised to believers, and He has promised much. I have been asked before if I was more connected to God through prayer or reading the Word. My answer is when I am doing both. I pray for guidance when I read it and also read it to pray with the right frame of mind.

The need to know God's promises motivates me to begin this study on the promises of God. I will study and discuss all the promises in each book of the Bible. I am starting with Phillipians since it is one of my favorite books primarily due to God's promises in it relevant to our lives in modern day.

As I study promises in each book, I will accompany reading the promise verses with several other tools: read the adjacent chapter and consider context; memorize the promise verses; and discuss practical applications and examples.