Name it & Claim it

God’s Will?

If we contemplate “claiming” promises, we will understand that God has promised us certain things. However, in the Webster’s unabridged dictionary a “claim” it is basically defined a demand for something. Obviously, God would not be directing us to approach Him in such a manner which is obvious since we have no instance in scripture where anyone “claims” anything from God as if it is their due.

What audacity or audaciousness we possess if we make a claim, that is, a form of a demand of God. We are to seek Him and petition Him with humility and utter reverence for who He is.  He is  King of Kings and Lord of Lords who laid down His life so that we might have life everlasting. For instance, He promised us that He would grant us peace that surpasses all understanding. In times of trouble, we should not go to Him “Lord, I claim that peace that you promised.” In essence, we are saying, “Lord, I demand that peace you promised.” We petition our Abba with reverence and humility and ask Him to grant us the peace according to His word and His will.

Since we know that God has made promises to us, we know that we can rely on Him simply because God said it. In other words, I can absolutely rely on the fact that Jesus will return and set up a messianic kingdom. When we petition God, ask Him to grant us our supplications; we petition Him based on His will. If we petition Him based on His will, we can, BY FAITH rely on the fact that He is faithful to answer us and grant us our requests. I would NOT DARE to have the audacity to approach God with the words “I lay claim to such and such” which is saying, based on the definition of the word “claim” “I demand such and such.”

We should not lay claim to anything — we should, on our knees and in reverence to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, approach Him in faith and reverence for who He is, the Holy God of Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. We can rely on His promises by faith in Him. And we can expect no for an answer as well — for who knows our needs better than God? In other words, we don’t “claim” a healing, we petition Him for a healing.

A wrong prayer is “I claim a healing” which is, in essence, stating to God “I demand a healing.” A proper approach is to petition Him for a healing and then, in faith, relying on Him to provide the best possible outcome. The best possible outcome may not be what you want. You may want a healing or whatever it is you’re asking Him — but He may say no, as He would want to use the circumstance to show you something and, ultimately it glorifies Him.

Laying claims upon God, i.e. making demands upon Him, does not bring Him glory. We should approach Him in thankfulness — even thanking Him for our burdens and trials.

Let’s not forgot whom we are talking to and He is not a lottery giver handing out prizes that we can claim.
Claiming from God His promises is stating to Him “Okay God, hand it over, you promised and it’s mine.” There is no reverence for or towards Him in demanding from God, which is what claiming is. Through His grace and His love for us, He has promised us certain things. We are to accept those promises with reverence and with humility. We do this according to His word which is to live our lives through Him by faith in what He has done. Claim is a form of a demand. Claim is defined as “A demand of a right or supposed right; a calling on another for something due, or supposed to be due. A claim implies a right or supposed right in the claimant to something which is in another’s possession or power. A claim may be made in words, by suit, and by other means. The word is usually preceded by make or lay; to make claim; to lay claim.”

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