The Burden of Proof ~ Discovering the Power of "Better" through Prayer and Fasting

God's Warrior Woman ~ Brittany's Story

For years, I carried the belief that if I got a good education, I’d be able to get a good job and be well on the pathway to success. 

And like me, maybe you had the same understanding. If you put good in, you’ll get good out.  

And like me, maybe you’ve asked yourself, “What exactly is good?” 

Was it just an idea, a term used to convey the opposite of bad? If so, then, what exactly is bad? Was it a figment of childhood imagination like princesses trapped in towers awaiting rescue?

I couldn’t quite figure out the essence of good, but I knew that I had to be it. I concocted this notion of good as being nice, honest, pleasant, and always displaying happiness, whether it was genuine or not.

I was determined to appease the onlookers of my life by not giving them any reason to wonder about my moral character. I stayed away from all the obvious things that one would deem bad. No night clubs, no smoking, drinking, cursing, you get the gist. By all accounts, I was good. And honestly, that’s what I wanted. I wanted a life that was easy and comfortable. I had fulfilled the first step on my life’s list of to-dos. Be good. 

But as many of you know, when God calls, your best response is “Yes.” 

Somewhere in the pursuit of good, I encountered a disruptor known as better. “But what could be better than good? And why wasn’t good, good enough?”

Better presented itself in a very put together fashion. It gave me pause because I never knew it existed. I only knew that if I wanted good out of life, I had to do good in life. 

This unexpected encounter forced me to consider the reality of what I believed and was chasing after. Now, questions flooded my mind, “Was I in fact good enough to achieve career success?” “Was I good enough to be with that guy?” Why did better want me?

 I couldn't quite fiqure out the essence of good, but I knew that I had to be it.  I concocted this notion of good as being nice, honest, pleasant, and always displaying happiness, whether it was genuine or not.

I was put in a tailspin. I was no longer moving toward anything and yet I was in motion. 

I had to prove that good was good enough and that better was in fact, a myth. Afterall, all my efforts went towards good, and enjoying the good life and existing in the morally good of self. Nothing prepared me for better. 

I’m not particularly astute in matters of law. While I know my basic rights, I would never consider myself qualified to argue or defend anyone nor myself in any legal matter. 

But as I sought meaning and something that defined the existence of better, I undertook the task to show burden of proof that good was good enough. In as simple terms as I can place it, in a legal dispute, the burden of proof is the responsibility of the party to show that they are correct or right, while the other party is presumed correct. 

And the more I searched for answers, the more the case of good began to lose its ground. Better instructed me to search scriptures and pray. It challenged me to rise to my godly potential and accept the will of the Father. Good allowed me to cater to my emotions and my own intellect. 

Better told me that I could trust and be confident without doubting or fearing. It positioned me to minister and to develop in the ministry of prayer. Good allowed me to operate in mediocrity and had a willingness to settle for just a little. 

Better pushed me out of familiarity, while good allowed me the comforts of lukewarm living. 

Better instructed me to search scriptures and pray.  It challenged me to rise to my Godly potential and accept the will of the Father.

And after much time desperately trying to win this case, I knew that I couldn’t. The more I learned about better, the better I became. 

No longer was I bound by the belief that all I had to do was keep my head down and mush on. 

No longer was I controlled with the wondering of what others thought of me. I was no longer ashamed to be uniquely and authentically me. 

My personality, my voice, my figure. Every physical characteristic that I possessed; I allowed better to overtake and undo the shame. 

No more imposter syndrome, thinking I had to be a certain way to attain good. 

No more phony feelings and expressions. No disingenuous relationships just for the sake of potential likes and shares on social media. 

The day I met Jesus, the Breaker, He disrupted my feeblemindedness. He gave me understanding of scripture and access through prayer and fasting. 

Ladies, if you are living life, simply striving for good--the basics, the that’ll do, my prayer is that you encounter the disruptor of good, known as better. 

I was once so fixated on having a good life, that I didn’t realize that God’s standards and mine are opposites. What I consider good, He requires better. What I consider enough, He requires more. 

Now that I gladly experience and live in better, I can tell you firsthand that prayer and fasting are essential to accepting the change that better comes to bring about. 

There is so much more for us to enjoy, and it starts with elevating our expectations and experiencing better through Jesus Christ. 

The verdict is in, Psalm 118:8, “It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man.” When we place our confidence in ourselves, we can only hope to achieve some measure of good out of life, but with our confidence placed in our Savior, we have access to better…so much better.  

Make sure you check back next week for another Warrior Woman!

You Are An Overcomer!

You are not alone; God created you in His image, which means you have power and authority.  He has equipped you with His strength and boldness. I would love to connect more and give you a FREE gift - The Warrior Woman Workbook: Overcoming Through the Power of Prayer and Fasting. 

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The Warrior Women Series will offer motivation and inspiration through heartfelt stories, illustrating that you can overcome challenges through the powerful combination of prayer and fasting.

Brittany Smalls is the author of Yesterday, Today, and Forever: The Sacrificial Ministry of Intercession, the host of Tea, Not Coffee a podcast for Christian women, and she works as a Voiceover Artist for Christian media programming and promotions, business commercials, and audiobook narration.

Brittany discovered her love for writing while in grade school. She went on to attend college at Claflin University, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications with a discipline in Print Journalism. While writing will always be her first love, Brittany grew fond of public speaking during her collegiate tenure. “Public speaking gives me an avenue to verbally connect with others while accomplishing my God-given purpose."  That purpose, as shared in her book, is fruitfulness in prayer.

In Yesterday, Today, and Forever, Brittany uses the experiential knowledge she gained on the journey of becoming an intercessor, to address common life issues that can interrupt spiritual growth, and separate Christians from the desire to pray.

Brittany's goal is to encourage intercessors and keep intercessors spiritually fueled so that the Body of Christ is strengthened. She is on a mission to strengthen the body of Christ by prayer, for prayer.
Brittany is thankful for all blessings and is especially thankful for her husband and their three children.

Visit Brittany’s website at www.brittanysmalls.com for more information on her book, Yesterday, Today, and Forever: The Sacrificial Ministry of Intercession.