How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy. ~ Psalm 78:40-42

Did you know that it is possible to limit God? The text above says, “they limited the Holy One of Israel.”

This is a reference to Israel’s unbelief, and their stubbornness to trust God. Israel in the wilderness kept forgetting the things God had done for them.

Verse 11 tells us they “forgot his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.”

Psalms 106 says: “They soon forgot his works; they waited not for his counsel” (v. 13). Verse 21 says, “They forgot God their Savior, which had done great things in Egypt…” 

Many times we rob ourselves of the blessings of God simply because we forget the wonderful things he has done for us.

When we forget what God has done, unbelief can unknowingly seep into our thinking and without even realizing it, we are limiting God.

James tells us the following:

If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. ~ James 1:5-8

Paul tells us in Philippians 4:6: Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 

The next time you pray for yourself, take a walk down memory lane and remind God of the things he has done for you in the past. Let him know that you haven’t forgotten them and let him know how thankful you still are for his wonderful goodness towards you.

Take the limits off, and remember what the Lord has done for you, and trust him for what you need him to do on your behalf.