Tag: Ask

Amiss

James 4:3

Thank you Father, for your word (that I don’t read).
Thank you Father, for your grace (that I don’t appreciate).
Thank you Father, for your power (that I don’t acknowledge).
Thank you Father, for your mercy (that I don’t recognize).
Thank you Father, for your love (that I take for granted).

Oftentimes, we go through life, acting as if God owes us something. We pray just for the sake of doing it, live how we want, do whatever we want, and fail to acknowledge all the good God does for us. God gave us His word, yet we rarely study it. We are daily loaded with grace and mercy, but we fail to appreciate it. The power of the almighty God can be seen all over the world, yet we place our confidence in frail men. God is love, and He allowed His love to take on the sins of all mankind, yet men ignorantly take Him for granted. When we pray, be sure our words align with our actions. When we spew vain words to God, we pray amiss, and the Father does not hear us. Let your life and your words always be pleasing to God, so when you pray, He will hear you, and He will answer you.

The Prayer Of Faith

James 5:13-20

One of the most sound words of advice acknowledged by Luke in the New Testament says “that men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” These words were mentioned right before Jesus began to teach the parable of the “Unjust Judge”. If you’re not familiar with this story, it can be found in Luke 18:1-8. Christ understood, keeping in constant communication with the Father, was essential to maintaining the right balance of natural, and holy living. God knows all, created all, and understands all, so the more we come to Him with whatever issue, the better we’ll understand His purpose for allowing it, and how to handle it.

Our text also gives a powerful word of wise counsel, as it states, “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (vs. 16b). While prayer involves communicating with God, in order for God to hear, or even acknowledge your words, a couple of things must first be dealt with. First of all, we should always approach God with a pure heart, and good intentions. If there is any sin in our hearts, we should confess our faults, and the Lord will save us. Second, when we pray, it must be done in faith. Praying without faith is, praying amiss, and God doesn’t acknowledge unfaithful requests. Many times, people come before God with doubt, fear, unbelief, or discouragement, but these things must be put aside, so that one won’t lose heart when seeking to receive an answer from the Father.

Because of Christ, we have a right to approach God, despite with the enemy says or does to convince us otherwise. Prayer is powerful and super effective, and when it becomes a customary pattern, the life of those who pray will become increasingly focused, and appealing in the eyes of God.

Why does the living man complain?

Ell

Prayer Plus Faith Equals Manifestation

James 1:1-11

Bestowing blessings upon a double-minded man, is like giving car keys to a four year old. A child that young, inexperienced, and underdeveloped, can’t possibly operate a vehicle properly, as they are not equipped to do so. God prefers not to bless those who are wavering and unstable in their faith, because doing so could cause them more harm, than good. Can you imagine if God gave everyone all the things they prayed for, even if they weren’t stable in their minds? This world would be in even more chaos than it already is. God is holy, and He is wise enough to know that only when a man’s mind is stable, can he truly benefit from His goodness.

Many people pray to God daily, but fail to attach faith with their requests. For this reason, they accuse God of not answering their prayers, but the problem was not with God, but their lack of faith. Faith is essential for many reasons, but most importantly, it proves that one’s heart is set on God’s agenda, and not on self. When we pray in faith, we don’t stop doing the works of the Lord. Instead, we continue living a holy life, while waiting and anticipating our manifested prayers.

God wants to bless His children daily, but we must do our part by trusting that He knows what’s best for us, and continuing in His divine will. Always remember, the text teaches us, “a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways”, and he should never expect God to honor any of his prayers, and only when we function with a sound mind, can God then trust us with His honorable gifts.

Keep your chin up… it’s easier to see Heaven that way,

Ell

Proper Prayer Posture

Matthew 7:7-11

There are countless verses of Scripture in the Bible, that teach us how to receive answers for our prayers, from God. Whether we ask, seek, knock, fast, meditate, perform good deeds, worship, or praise, there’s a requirement that must first be met, in order for our prayers to reach God ears, and merit a legit response. God is holy, and demands that His children be holy as well. Just as a good parent seeks only good for their children, God cares for the church as a good Father should. But, in order to justly receive all God has stored up for us, we must be free from sin. Free, not in a sense that we’re perfect, or mistake-free, but free as in forgiven, born-again, and striving to do God’s will daily.

Oftentimes, men pray amiss, and seek things that will only please their selfish desires, but God blesses us, so that we can be a blessing to others, while bringing glory to His name as well. Even children born into wealthy families have rights to obtain an inheritance, but certain behaviors must still be maintained, in order to receive what’s due to them, at the appropriate time. The prophet Isaiah understood this when he wrote, “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). When we live outside of the will of God, He’s not obligated to hear, nor answer anything we cry out to Him. This is similar to a parent being asked for a treat, from a child with consistent unruly behavior. A good parent understands, rewarding children for bad behavior is not a common standard, and could possibly encourage the child to continue in their unhealthy habits (although there are times when you can actually show kindness to a child who’s deserving of punishment, and shock them back into reality). When we learn to desire only those things that are pleasing to God, then He’ll be more inclined to listen to our requests, and bless us accordingly.

So, when you pray to God, what do you ask, and seek from Him. Do you make petitions for things to make your name great, and draw attention to your own plans, or do you desire things that will benefit yourself, and others, spiritually and naturally as well?

Walk in love,

Ell

Asking and receiving fairly

Matthew 7:7-14

Does prayer really work? When we ask God for things, seek His wise counsel for answers, and knock on doors we need opened, how can we know for sure, God hears us, and will respond accordingly? Those are very legit questions, and I’m glad you asked. As the children of God, we have certain rights and privileges unbelievers can never obtain. It is the will of God that His people prosper, so all they are required to do in order to receive what they need to succeed is, simply ask for them, in faith, believing. The number one reason prayer isn’t answered for the Christian is, unbelief. Verse seven of our text tells us that we need only to ask, seek, and knock, then God will respond. The first letters of each of those words spell, ASK, so it’s obvious that God wants us to make a request, in order to get what we want. God is like a father to a child, who knows what his child needs, but desires that the child understand that what they need is necessary, and in accordance with their father’s will.

Praying according to the will of God, will always net you a positive gain, because your desires will be in line with what He already desires for you. On the other hand, praying amiss, or for selfish and unprofitable reasons, will get your request sent quickly to God’s heavenly shredder. Christians who’ve experienced seasons of trials and testing, are fully aware that there are times when our requests are delayed while God is testing our faith and patience, removing phony people who could potentially leech off our blessings, or because the devil is actually fighting against what we prayed for, as in the case with the prophet Daniel. Daniel prayed to God for a thing, and God heard and answered Him immediately after he had finished praying, but his answer was held up for three weeks, as the angel who was assigned to deliver Daniel’s blessing was hindered by the devil, who fought to keep the blessing from reaching him. We’re living in a world of natural, and spiritual warfare, so it’s imperative that we don’t faint, nor lose heart while waiting for God to answer our prayers, because He knows our suffering, and will NEVER allow our faith in Him to be in vain.

When your prayers to God are finally answered, how do you carry yourself after? Do you flaunt and walk with your nose to the sky in arrogance, or do you remain humble, and show God your appreciation by continuing to walk in love? When we have what we need from God, it is still our duty to treat our neighbors as we would want to be treated. There are countless individuals who seem to have things all together, and in order, but fail to show love and kindness to those still struggling. I remain baffled at those rich and famous preachers and “profits”, who live lavishly, while their members struggle to keep a roof over their heads. The “Golden Rule” teaches us to do unto others, as we would have them do unto us (vs. 12). How can a blessed man, who claims to love God with all his heart, see someone struggling, but refuse to lend a helping hand. Even in moments when we have not the means to provide for someone’s need, we can follow Peter’s example, and offer a word of prayer, that can do more for a person’s life than silver and gold ever could. “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16b). Does prayer work? Of course it does, when done with the right heart, right intentions, and right faith.

Walk in love,

Ell