This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.(1 John 5:14) Today is the 2nd day of the 10th month. Happy New Month to us all. As I pondered about the new month, my subconscious mind pulled all the list of things I have been praying about before me. There have been some ticks but many more are yet to be received. Does God answer all our prayers? 1 John 5:14 says that “this is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” How do I know if what I asked for is according to God’s will? As a child, I knew the things that I could easily get from my parents and the ones they are unlikely to give me. One of the confidence all believers should have in God, is assurance of answered prayers. But, do we get answers to all our prayers? 1 John 5:14 is a reminder that we should seek to know the will of God and this will greatly influence our prayer life. God desires to bless us but those blessings should not be hindrances to serving Him. I could easily ask my parents for academic books but I couldn’t ask for a toy gun. Toy guns did not contribute in any way to my progress. It is a playful toy but not the best gift for a child desiring to grow in love. So you know, God answers all our prayers that align with His will for your life. If we go a step ahead of Him, we might receive His permissive will but that can lead us into trouble. His perfect will is what we should seek in our daily walk. Instead of giving up, let us ask God in prayers. Let us go before Him and seek His perfect will. I believe He has good things for us. When we delight ourselves in Him, we accept His will and we live in His timing. God’s delight is not necessarily our delight. So, as we delight ourselves in the Lord, we should know the basis of our delight. Psalms 37:4-6 (NIV) Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. John 15:7 (NIV) If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. Jesus is the true vine, and His Father is the gardener. The Father cuts off every branch in Jesus that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can we bear fruit unless you remain in Jesus. When we remain in Christ, and His words remain in us, then we can ask whatever we wish and it will be done for us (John 15:1-2, 4,7).The basis of us receiving whatever we wish is remaining in Christ Jesus and having His words remain in us. Although this looks so simple, in reality, many believers struggle to remain in Christ or have His words remain in them. We are daily faced with diverse issues of life and for most of us, our approach is to first consider how those issues affect our lives. For example, when we pray to God for money and doors open for us to have money, we barely consider if that door pleases the Lord. Jesus should be the Lord of every facet of our lives. His words should take precedence in us. Whatever we do, should be weighed by Jesus’ words. When we remain in Him, even our prayers are directed by the right motive. James said that, “when you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”(James 4:3). When we are Christ-focused, even our prayers are guided by the need to please Him. Today, if we will be Christ-centred and Christ-focused, whatever we ask will be done for us because our desires will be Christ-focused. Our blessings will advance God’s kingdom and bring men to the saving knowledge of Christ. – Do my desires please the Lord? – Do I ask with the right motive? – Is the word of God living and active in me? – Are my desires triggered by the blessings of others? – Do I intend to use my blessings to intimidate or to bless others? If your answer is NO to the above questions, pray that God constantly leads you to His perfect will and guide you in every area of your life. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” (Matthew 21:22 NIV) Imagine walking with Jesus on a sunny afternoon. You see a fig tree blossoming with leaves but has no fruit. Jesus makes a simple statement and suddenly the tree withered to the root. Out of shock, you ask Jesus, ‘how is this possible?’ . Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done” (Matthew 21:21). This revelation is shocking but how many times have we failed to command problems to leave our lives? Faith is a divine currency in receiving the blessings of God. In today’s passage, Jesus said, “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Does this mean that our backlog prayer list is a result of our unbelief alone? Certainly NO! Asking for the wrong motive can also hinder our prayers. But, if the motive is right, then we need to ask in faith. In fact, Hebrews state it succinctly, “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). How do I get faith? “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17 KJV). The level of our faith depends on the word of God in us. You cannot release what isn’t in you. Don’t pray for faith! Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). The word of God in us is a pool of faith. If you don’t know God’s word concerning your life, what basis do you have to ask? Sin and unbelief can also block our prayers. But, if these are cleared, we need to build our faith on the word of God. – How to get faith – Romans 10:17 – Keep the word of God in you – John 15:7 – Develop your daily quiet time – Mark 1:35 -Live a life of faith – Hebrews 11:1 Pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) Jesus told the parable of the poor widow and the unjust judge. This judge neither feared God nor man but the widow’s consistent, persistent, nonstop visit caused the judge to to say, “Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice (Luke 18:4-5). Jesus compared this to our just God, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?” (Luke 18:7). We need to develop an unceasing attitude to prayer. This verse reminds us of the need to have a persistent prayer life. When we pray a day and we don’t see changes, we should not quit. I used to type my prayer requests and some of the requests made in 2014 were received in 2016. Did I stop praying? NO! Even till date, I keep praying about the same issues, for whatever is received through prayer is sustained by prayer. Some people prayed for a lifetime to receive answers to their prayers. Don’t quit, don’t give up, delay is not denial. While you wait, you must continue to pray. You must live a Christlike life. You must not doubt. Your focus should not change to your selfish desires. You should constantly give a praise party, not a pity party. Praise parties sustain your zeal and confuses the devil. One mistake most believers do while we wait is to go ahead of God. For example, if you pray for a husband/wife and you are already living together with another man/woman, do you expect God to kick out the first and bring the second. God’s ways are not our ways. While we wait, be careful not to be deceived by appearances. Don’t habor sin. Don’t GIVE UP on praying. Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”(Luke 18:27) ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ (Jeremiah 33:3) When I need to contact family and friends, I make phone calls. When I need to contact God, which number should I use? I heard in church years ago that God’s telephone number is Jeremiah 33:3, but when I typed Jeremiah 33:3, it was not answered by God. The question is, how do I contact God? Literally typing Jeremiah 33:3 on my phone did not connect me to God but when I prayed, I heard His still small voice in my heart and the joy was unimaginable. Prayer is the Master key to the strong room of God. When we pray, we unleash divine ballistic missiles into the atmosphere. When we worship at our lowest point, the weapon of joy is released. There are unsearchable things that are revealed when we pray. Prayer opens the door to unimaginable secrets and blessings. But, the prayer of a sinner is an abomination before God (Prov.28:9). The Lord is attentive to the prayer of the righteous (1 Pet. 3:12). This long post has admonished us that God is a prayer-answering God. He hears us when we pray but certain things can hinder our prayers. However, when we have a right stand before God, He hears us. Even if the answer tarry, God still comes through at the right time. Remember, God hears our innermost thoughts. Be mindful of what you say to Him at your lowest point. He has made all grace sufficient to those who come to Him. Today, encounter Him in prayer and let us raise divine ballistic missiles into the camp of satan. Prayer: Dear God, thank you for listening to us when we pray. Thanks for hearing even the tiniest voice from our souls. Please answer us speedily when we call in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen
Comentários