Matthew 8:13 "And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."
We love it when the Lord works His miracles in our lives as soon as we pray about a need. We are thrilled to see His answers to our prayers happen immediately.
But how about us? How quickly do we respond when God asks something of us?
Do we obey immediately?
Abraham did:
Genesis 17:23 "And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him."
Abraham's obedience made all the difference in his relationship to the Lord. When he was obeying immediately, God's blessings were abundant. When he disobeyed, or delayed his obedience, God's blessings were withheld.
Honestly, sometimes, I don't even think about delaying my obedience to the Lord.
He touches my heart about something, and I just ignore it. I don't jump right in to obey what He asks. I simply do nothing, and wait for the next "nudge" of the Holy Spirit.
This quote really touched my heart and convicted me that I need to practice "instant" obedience:
"Instant obedience is the only kind of obedience there is; delayed obedience is disobedience." ~ from Messages for the Morning Watch
I am purposing in my heart today to pay attention to the Voice of the Holy Spirit and the gentle directions of the Lord, so that I may obey immediately.
"…A postponed duty never can bring the full blessing that God intended, and that it would have brought if done at the earliest possible moment." ~ from Messages for the Morning Watch
I encourage you to give God "instant" obedience, too. I am convinced that the blessings that follow our submission to His will will far outweigh any inconvenience that the obedience may have caused us.
He will keep His Word. He will bless us as we obey Him.
Jeremiah 7:23 "But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you."
Obtaining Mercy 