"I'm just waiting on God...I'm waiting on Him to prosper me...I'm waiting on Him to heal me...I'm waiting on Him to deliver me."

When people make statements like that, they sound good, almost spiritual. But the truth is, the people who make those kinds of statements don't know much about God.
I know they don't. Because the Bible clearly teaches that when it comes to the blessings of God - we're not waiting on Him. He is waiting on us! And He's been waiting for thousands of years.

He's waiting for obedience. Second Chronicles 16:9 says, "...the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him…."

God yearns for His people to be blessed. He longs to pour out His power on them. He desires to see them healed and prosperous and miraculously victorious in every area of life.

That's what He wanted for the nation of Israel thousands of years ago. He told them if they would obey His voice and keep His commandments, He would set them on high above all the nations of the earth and bless them in every way (Deut. 28). God told the Israelites that as long as they obeyed what He said, no enemy could stand before them.

"Oh, but that's in the Old Testament," you say. Yes, it is. But God hasn't changed. He's "...the same yesterday, and today, and for ever" (Heb. 13:8). He's the same now as He was then. He is still looking for a generation of people who will obey Him, a generation He can take into the promised land.

What Are You Waiting For?
Some Christians think they have to wait until they die to enter that land. But they're mistaken. God wants to take us into that Land of Promise now! He wants His Church to experience the kingdom of heaven while we're here on earth.

God isn't holding out on us. He wants to do mighty things in the earth. He wants to overwhelm this world with His loving presence. He's just been waiting for a generation of people who will yield to Him so He can do it. He's been waiting for a generation of people who love Him with all their hearts and put Him first in their lives. He's been waiting for people who will be obedient.

If you want to know what God will do in the lives of people like that, look at Jesus. He was obedient to God in all things. He wouldn't even say anything except what the Father said.

"For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me" (John 6:38). Jesus didn't live His life for Himself. He lived it to fulfill the plan of His Father. He lived to be obedient.

And do you know how God responded to that obedience? He gave Jesus His Spirit without measure (John 3:34). As a result, Jesus walked the earth in total victory. He defeated Satan and destroyed his works at every turn. Everywhere He went, He made the blind see, the lame walk and the deaf hear. He cast out demons and raised the dead.

You know, the world tries to convince us it's more exciting to sin than to obey God. But Jesus proved that it's not. He lived the most exciting life in history.

Obeying God isn't going to doom you to a life of boredom. Obeying God isn't going to cheat you out of the good things of life. No! Obedience will lead you into the most thrilling life of victory and blessing you could ever imagine.

How do you step into that kind of obedience? You walk in it one day at a time. You don't sit around for years waiting for God to tell you to go to Africa as a missionary. You learn to do the little things He tells you to do. You learn to follow His directions on a daily basis.

God primarily provides those directions through His written Word, by the inward witness and by the voice of His Spirit. Many believers get very excited about the voice of God. They're eager for Him to tell them what to do about various situations in their lives. But they don't want to take time to study the written Word or be quiet enough to listen to the inward witness - which is the voice of their own spirit enlightened by the Holy Spirit.

Even Jesus, Who was more sensitive to the voice of God than any man had ever been, studied the written Word. In fact, He was so skilled in it that at the age of 12 the Jewish teachers in the temple "...were astonished at his understanding and answers" (Luke 2:47).

If you'll simply believe the written Word, you'll find it much easier to follow the inward witness or the voice of the Spirit. The written Word will retrain your mind to think like God thinks so that you recognize His directions. When He speaks, you'll know it's Him because what you are hearing is right in line with His Word.

Make Time for God
Isaiah 55:8-9 says, "...my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." If you want to accurately understand the leading of God, get better acquainted with His high ways than you are with the world's low ways. Focus your time and attention on Him and His Word.

Jesus operated that way. The Bible says He got up a great while before daylight to pray. Sometimes He spent whole nights communicating with God.

Jesus made spending time with God the number one priority in His life. That's how He knew what God wanted Him to do. That's how He perfectly pleased Him. He spent time with Him.

Jesus' disciples knew by watching His lifestyle that His power was connected to the time He spent praying. That's why they asked Him, "...Lord, teach us to pray..." (Luke 11:1).

The instructions Jesus received in those times with God weren't always easy. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He sweated blood and said, "...O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Matt. 26:39).

You may be in that Garden of Gethsemane place right now. God may be telling you to do something your flesh just doesn't want to do. He may have been telling you for months to get up earlier every morning so you can spend more time in prayer or in the Word. And you've been thinking for months, Yes, I really ought to do that...and then hitting the snooze button on your alarm and going back to sleep.

Follow Directions
Perhaps God has been speaking to you about adjustments you need to make in your life. He may be saying, "This is what you can do about this situation. Here's what you can do to change."

No matter how insignificant God's instructions may seem to you right now, you need to take them seriously. You need to obey them. What may seem of little significance now, may cause you to avoid serious consequences later. God's directions are always in your best interest.

Remember, God doesn't start showing you His will by sending you to Africa. He starts in the little things. He starts where you are today. But if you're so busy living your routine of life - going to work every day, watching television at night, going to bed, getting up in the morning and going to work again - that you don't give God any time, you'll never hear His Spirit telling you what you need to do.

The secret to obedience is simply trusting God. You have to decide He's smarter than you and be willing to do what He says whether you understand it or not.

Let the Adventure Begin
I've already made that decision. I've told God, "Lord, I'm giving you the rest of my time here on earth. Whatever you say, that's what I'm going to do. Even if it doesn't make sense to me, I'll do it."

I can tell you, it's an adventure. Walking with God is a wonderful, blessed adventure that has brought me blessings, excitement and a life of victory that I never could have dreamed of years ago. I'm not saying I've arrived yet - in fact, I'm just getting started. But I am started.

That's what God wants you to do, too. He wants you to start. Growing spiritually is like growing physically. It's a process. When you were a baby, your mother didn't expect you to walk the day you were born. But she would have been disappointed if you had not walked by the time you were five years old.

So start today obeying God one day at a time. That's all God is asking you to do. Begin where you are today. Decide to trust Him, to obey Him, to be one of those precious people whose heart is perfect toward Him.

He's already longing to bless you. He's yearning to heal you and prosper you and deliver you. He desires with all His heart to pour out His Spirit upon you in glory and power. The only thing He's waiting for...is you.

Excerpt permission granted by
Eagle Mountain International Church, Inc.
aka:  Kenneth Copeland Ministries