Do you know you can limit God?  You can by your words.  Of course you are probably saying, I wouldn’t limit God.  But, the words we speak are powerful.   Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV) says, death and life are in the power of the tongue.  Hosea 4:6 (NKJV) says, my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.  We can frame our world by our words according to Hebrews 11:3

I went through a situation this past year and learned this lesson, and I wanted to share this experience so it could hopefully benefit others.  My lesson was financially related, but you can apply this to any situation you may be facing.

Issue

I had a water leak in my home with all the rain we had in Florida.  My insurance adjuster came and inspected the damage and gave me an estimated range of what my insurance would pay for the damages.  For example, let’s say the quote he gave me was $2,000-$5,000.  He also said it would take several months before the insurance would settle the claim.  So I prayed about this situation, and I asked God for favor and that I would receive the highest amount from the insurance company, the $5,000.  

Lesson Learned

Now here is the important lesson I learned.  I was going to pray what the insurance adjuster told me what I would receive, which was the highest amount, $5,000.  I was going to pray based on what “the expert” had told me.  But when I started praying for the $5,000, I heard the Holy Spirit say to me, I am limiting God.  I stopped at that point, and then asked myself a question.   Am I going to pray based on what man (the world) has to say about this situation, or am I going to believe what God says?  I decided I’m going to believe what God has to say about my situation.  I changed my prayer and said,  Lord, you know my situation.  What amount will I be receiving from the insurance?  What amount should I be praying for since I don’t want to limit you.  

Answered Prayer

When I changed how I prayed, I heard clearly, the Holy Spirit told me an amount.  The amount I heard was $10,000.  That’s DOUBLE the high end of the range the insurance adjuster (“the expert”) had told me.  Now I could either believe what I heard or not believe and disregard this amount.  I chose to believe, and said OK Lord, I’m going to pray this amount.  In the natural, it seemed crazy since my insurance adjuster had told me the highest was $5,000.  Also, let’s not forget that we are talking about insurance companies that are not inclined to pay out high claims.

Now here is the exciting part.  Several months later, my adjuster called to tell me the insurance settlement amount.  He told me I got a really good settlement.  The amount was EXACTLY what the Lord had told me, $10,000! 

You see, I could have prayed based on what “the world” said I would receive.  I believe I would have been limited by that amount, and I would have missed it and not seen God’s hand work on my behalf by first asking the Lord, what was the amount I would be receiving.  I can’t tell you what an awesome feeling to have heard the insurance adjuster tell me the exact amount I heard God told me.  God is all knowing!  And God answers prayers!  James 5:16 (NIV) says, the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

The lesson learned is, when the world tells you what they believe the end result will be of your situation, don’t limit God by praying what “the world” told you.  Pray by asking God what does He say about it.  God wants to be involved in every area of your life.  There is nothing difficult for God.