We live in a generation that desires quick results, supernatural experiences, and remarkable stories to tell. We want miracles, open doors, and powerful testimonies. But often, we are not willing to go through the process that produces them. In the Kingdom of God, our knees take us farther than our feet.
The spiritual life is not sustained by haste, but by dependence. It is not about chasing opportunities, but about pouring ourselves out in His presence. Before great public victories, there are secret encounters with God. And it is there, in the place of prayer, that everything begins to be transformed.
The pressure that produces oil
“Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.”
Psalm 126:5–6
“Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16). The prayer of the righteous is powerful because it is born from surrender. We want oil, but we forget that oil is only produced when the olive is pressed. A testimony is not born from comfort, but from process.
In 2 Kings 4, the widow only witnessed the miracle of the multiplied oil after she prepared the jars and obeyed the prophet’s instruction. God could have simply filled her house without any participation, but He involved her in the process. The miracle found space because there was preparation.
The tears we shed today may be the seeds of tomorrow’s testimony. “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy” (Psalm 126:5). Do not despise the time of pressure. It is producing something eternal. Knees bent today build stories that will glorify God in the future.
Silence the heart
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Psalm 119:105
The phrase “follow your heart” sounds beautiful, but biblically it is dangerous. “The heart is deceitful above all things” (Jeremiah 17:9). The heart is the core of our life, what governs our decisions, and therefore it must be guarded. But it can also deceive us.
Our desires may seem pure in our own eyes, but that does not mean they are aligned with God’s will. Self-righteousness and self-reliance are subtle and dangerous.
That is why we need the Word. It is not feelings that guide us, but Scripture. When we align our dreams with what God has already revealed, we avoid distortions and learn to trust that He takes responsibility for directing our steps—while we take responsibility to seek, listen, and follow.
Transformed in the process
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.”
Romans 8:29
The Bible declares: “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). In Christ we have been purified and justified. We are not perfect in ourselves, but we are complete in Him. Salvation is a finished work; sanctification is an ongoing work.
God does not abandon processes; He does not leave His work unfinished. The tears, the sacrifices, and the struggles are part of our refinement, just as prayer is the path to it. Pain is not a sign of abandonment, but of formation.
We are called to cooperate with this work through obedience and surrender. Sanctification may hurt, but it produces light. Testimonies are born when someone chooses to pour themselves out in prayer and trust that God will finish what He started.
Your life moves in the direction of your prayers and your thoughts. You never pray based on who you are, but on who He is. Do not limit your prayer because you consider yourself simple or unworthy. The work does not depend on your perfection, but on His faithfulness.
Bend your knees. Prepare the jars. Trust the process.
Your feet may take you to many places, but it is your knees that take you to the center of God’s will.
