2026 THEME — “SEEING LIFE FROM GOD’S PERSPECTIVE” January – Prayer from God’s Perspective
The second service on “Prayer From God’s Perspective” will take us further by revealing how prayer aligns us with what God has already prepared for our lives. Rather than pleading for blessings, prayer reshapes our hearts, strengthens our faith, and positions us to carry what God is ready to entrust to us. These services mark a spiritual reset and holy recalibration, establishing the foundation for this year and shaping how we discern every decision, delay, and open door in 2026.
SUNDAY’S SERMON SUMMARY
Our world is in chaos because people insist on living by their own understanding, yet God has called His people to live anchored in His perspective, responding with His wisdom instead of pride, preference, or panic. When life is seen through God’s lens, fear quiets, offense loosens, and confusion gives way to clarity as delays become preparation, losses become correction, and interruptions become alignment, transforming prayer from controlling outcomes to aligning hearts with God’s wisdom. After a year marked by hidden pain and heavy strain, this truth remains: God stayed close, kept His promises, and now calls us forward to trust and obey—beginning 2026 in surrendered faith, standing in Christ’s authority, and believing He will bring us through again.
GO TO www.belmontbaptistchurch.com/sermons and listen to Sunday’s message.
Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
God Uses Prayer to Prepare You for What You’re Asking For
“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth.” — Hebrews 12:6
From God’s perspective, prayer is preparation, not just petition. We often approach prayer asking God to change circumstances—promotion, healing, influence, provision, or relief—while God uses prayer to change us. Heaven is never rushed by urgency; it is guided by wisdom. God does not answer prayers in ways that would damage the soul He is forming.
Correction, waiting, and pruning often feel like resistance, but Scripture reveals them as evidence of love. Hebrews 12:6 reminds us that God disciplines not to punish, but to prepare. Love does not remove every hardship; love trains, strengthens, and refines. What feels uncomfortable in prayer may be the very process God is using to ready your heart, faith, and character for what you are asking Him to entrust to you.
God will never give what will crush you, corrupt you, or cost you your soul. Prayer prepares the inner life to carry outer blessings. When prayer becomes uncomfortable, it is often because God is shaping you for something larger—and longer-lasting—than you yet realize.
Why God Refines Before He Releases
We tend to measure answered prayer by speed, but God measures readiness by formation. Many prayers are delayed not because God is unwilling, but because preparation is incomplete. From God’s perspective, it would be unloving to release influence without humility, blessing without stewardship, or relief without resilience.
Correction and refinement are signs that God is invested in your future. A God who did not care would simply give you what you want and let you learn the hard way. A loving Father prepares you so the gift does not become a burden. Prayer becomes the environment where God strengthens weaknesses, exposes motives, and deepens trust—so that what He gives can be sustained.
The Difference Between Resistance and Refinement
Not every closed door is opposition, and not every delay is denial. Sometimes what we interpret as resistance is actually refinement. God uses waiting seasons to expose impatience, pruning seasons to remove dependencies, and correction to realign priorities.
Prayer during refinement feels different. It stretches faith instead of soothing it. It confronts the heart instead of comforting it. But this is where spiritual maturity is formed. Refinement is not punishment—it is preparation with purpose. God is shaping not just what you will receive, but who you will be when you receive it.
When Prayer Feels Uncomfortable
Uncomfortable prayer often signals growth. It means God is dealing with areas that will not survive the next level of responsibility. He is teaching endurance before expansion, obedience before authority, and humility before increase.
From God’s perspective, discomfort in prayer is not rejection—it is invitation. It is an invitation to trust Him beyond convenience, to surrender control, and to submit to His shaping hand. When prayer presses on your pride, patience, or preferences, it is often because God is aligning you with a future that requires deeper character.
Prayer — Submitting to God’s Refining Work
Father God,
In the name of Jesus Christ, I come before You acknowledging that You are a loving Father who prepares before You release. I confess that I have sometimes resisted Your refining work, mistaking discipline for delay and correction for rejection. In Jesus’ name, I renounce every lie of the enemy that says discomfort means abandonment or that pruning means punishment. I break agreement with impatience, fear of correction, and resistance to Your shaping hand. I declare that Your discipline is proof of Your love and Your preparation is evidence of Your purpose. Holy Spirit, help me yield fully to Your work in me. Where You are refining, I submit. Where You are pruning, I trust. Where You are correcting, I receive instruction with humility. Guard my heart from bitterness and teach me to cooperate with Your process. I declare that I will not abort what You are forming through impatience or fear. Prepare me fully for what I am asking You for. Shape my character to match my calling. I trust You to complete Your work in me, and I rest in Your faithfulness. In the mighty name of Jesus,
Amen.
Practical Challenge — Cooperating With Preparation
Today, identify one area of discomfort you have been resisting—correction, waiting, pruning, or adjustment.
- Name it honestly before God.
- Thank Him out loud for using this process to prepare you.
- Pray this sentence slowly: “Lord, finish Your work in me before You fulfill Your work through me.”
For the next 24 hours, resist asking God to remove the process. Instead, ask Him to deepen your trust and complete His preparation. What God prepares you for today will bless you—and others—tomorrow.
THURSDAY’S PRAYER REQUESTS
Joni Oberhage
Linda Mays
Carol Lawhead – Riverside in Conyers
Mandy Martin – Mary May Martin 6 lbs. 7 oz.
Myles Elliott
Rose Fuller – Pruitt-Monroe Nursing Home, Forsyth GA
Amy Garner’s Dad
Brando Echarte
Debbie Foskey
Don Franklin’s Daughter, Darlene, Son, David
Ed Adkins – Friend of Brian Edwards
Gloria Young
Jake Jenkins
Jenkins son-in-law
June Cronan
Jean Partee’s Sister
Kim McClain’s Daughter, Amanda
Deon Lotter
Doris Loyd
Nancy Brown
Annette Ford
Andrea Nix– Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Angela Bryan’s Sisters
Ann Stanley
Danny Jarrard
Darlene Wiggins
Doris Loyd
Dr. and Mrs. Davis
Eric Magnusson’s Mother
Eric Ward
Friend of Linda Hodge
Gayle Sparks
Linda Alexander
James Burnette
Jessica Headrick
John McClain’s Mother
June Cronan’s Sister
June Davis
Kailey Bateman
Kim McClain’s Mother
Kim’s Sisters – Ann & Brenda
Lee Cronan
Lillianna Magnusson’s Mom
Lonzo Christian
Lori Blount’s Mother
Mary Williams
Mary Williamson – Dana Jackson’s Mom
Mrs. Franklin
Nora Allison
Ron And Johnnie Barry – Friends Of Ashton & Glenda Bateman
Scott Lanier
Scotty Nix
Stephanie Seivers – Friend of the Shelnutt’s
Steve Michaels
Tom Witcher