by Ben Woodward | "For only we who believe can enter his rest" (Heb. 4:3).
I know.
It might seem a little bold of me to declare that I know how to attract God's favor. It's definitely not something you start a conversation with.
"Hey, how are you? Good. By the way, I know how to attract God's favor."
So in the interest of not sounding presumptuous, let me put it this way: I know how to get God's attention and, if you give me a few minutes, I will show you exactly how it works.
This one thing (the one thing that attracts God's favor) has been the spark that resulted in healing, prosperity, children born from dead wombs, blind eyes opened, the dead raised and countless other miraculous events over many years. This is the one thing that has consistently, generation after generation, moved the heart of God and attracted His favor.
This one thing has resulted in my wife being healed of level 4 endometriosis, her dead ovary growing back after being 90 percent destroyed by the disease, three children being born to her "dead" womb, thousands of dollars of debt being paid off, miraculous provision time and time again, doors of opportunity opening time and time again and a whole lot more.
This one thing enabled a young man (a friend of mine) at Starbucks to prophesy over thousands of people, so much so that people started to come to that Starbucks looking for a word from God. This one thing enabled a dear missionary friend of mine to go into closed nation after closed nation and bring the gospel to the poorest and most forgotten (those stories are for another time, but they would blow your mind).
You would think that if all this was happening because of this one simple thing, then everybody would just do it, right? It would be simple. Go and find out what these people are doing and do the same thing! That would make the most sense to me.
I wish it was that easy. Alright, I will tease no more. Would you like to know how to attract God's favor? Would you like to know how to get God's attention?
Just believe.
Yep. That's it. It's a simple as that. "Well, Ben, show me where the Bible says that if I believe I will attract God's favor?" OK, I will. Let's start with Abraham.
"What does Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness'" (Rom. 4:3).
That's pretty powerful stuff. Now, let's move onto some people not quite as nice: The Ninevites. Remember them? Those were the people Jonah was sent to (but Jonah spent three days in the belly instead). The historical record has some pretty nasty stuff to say about them as well. Let's see what happened to them.
"Then the people of Nineveh believed in God; and they called a fast and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them" (Jonah 3:5).
The Ninevites believed God and attracted God's mercy and favor. That is definitely not what you would have expected.
How about something a little closer to the time of Jesus? How about Mary and Martha?
"Then Jesus said, 'Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?'" (John 11:40).
That's a pretty powerful statement to make. If you would just believe, you will see the glory of God. Oh, and don't forget God's promise to us.
"For only we who believe can enter his rest" (Heb. 4:3).
We can enter into God's rest if we would just believe.
In some other places, the Bible calls this "belief" by another word—faith.
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Heb. 11:6).
If it is impossible to please God without faith, then it is probably safe to assume that faith pleases God and attracts His favor.
I always try to simplify theological ideas for people, so try this on for size. What does faith look like? It looks like my children waking up in the morning and going straight to the kitchen to grab cereal because they believe that it will be there. They did not buy it. They did not work for it. They did not earn it. They just believed that it would be there.
That is faith.
Do you want to get God's attention and attract His favor?
Start doing something as simple as trusting that God is who He says He is. Believe that He is good (Ps. 136:1). Believe that He is able (Eph. 3:20). Believe that He trustworthy (Ps. 28:6-7). Believe that He is unchanging (James 1:17).
Just believe.
Ben Woodward is a worship leader, speaker, author and songwriter from Australia. As you will find out by reading his book You Shall Know the Truth, he is passionate about helping people discover Jesus through worship and prayer. He lives in Kansas City with his wife, Kathryn, and three children, Eliana, Cohen and Paisley.
