It's unwise to ask God:
~ for help if we are not making any effort.
~ for strength if we have strength we are not using.
~ for guidance if we are ignoring the guidance we now have.
~ for prosperity if we cannot be trusted with it.
~ for faith when we are afraid to act on what we already know.
~ for forgiveness if we continue hating someone.
~ for mercy if we intend to commit the same sin again.
James 4:3, "Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may
consume it upon your lusts."
Ladies, contrary to popular belief, not all prayer is good just because
it's prayer!
God says there is such a thing as asking amiss. As a child of God, one
of the greatest privileges we have been granted is prayer. It is a privilege
afforded us when we are born into God's family through receiving His Son
Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. We can go to our heavenly Father
any time of the day or night and find Him waiting, listening and ready
to fellowship with us. However, I want us to consider today how often
we have entered the presence of God asking amiss...
If you're honest with yourself today, you'd have to admit that as human
beings one of the biggest problems we struggle with is our selfish desires.
As a matter of fact, in the first verse of chapter 4, James speaks of
the lusts (plural) that war within our members. Our human lusts continually
fight to control us. Is it any wonder then that such selfishness could
permeate our prayer lives and render them foolish and ineffective? Ladies,
selfish desires are dangerous things that
lead us straight into wrong behavior! Look into your heart today and identify
where the battle of selfishness is raging. Don't be so prideful as to
think such lusts do not war within you - otherwise you will never detect
the areas in your prayer life where you are asking amiss!
What if today God sent an angel unto you stating that the privilege of
prayer had been removed for lack of use or misuse on your part. What if
your prayer life became limited to only three per day or even three per
week. How would your prayer life change? (Maybe you pray even less than
that now!) But think about it... Which prayer would you add that you might
not be praying at present? Which prayer would you subtract because it's
just a "filler" - a ritualistic, rehearsed prayer that impresses others
or gives you a false sense of spirituality? If God cut back your prayer
life, would you then dare to begin to pray for that which you had previously
been afraid to ask? Would it increase your sense of fervency in prayer,
transforming your conversations with God from a religious recital to a
wrestling match for right? Perhaps you'd finally begin to recognize answers
to prayer that you hadn't noticed before due to the dullness of your heart
and mind... Would the temporal or eternal become most prominent in choice?
Would that lost soul take precedence over your personal comfort? Hopefully
such a decree would cause you to consider your prayer life more seriously
and bring sobriety and maturity to your character and filter out the waste
that lingers in your conversations with God. Nevertheless, let's allow
the Word of God to provide the distinction between wise and unwise prayers...
Matthew 6:7, "But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen
do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking."
So dear lady, what percentage of your prayer life falls under the category
of vain? How much of it is repetition, lots of words but very little understanding
of the One you are conversing with? I'm not saying that to repeat a prayer
request automatically makes it vain, but what is the condition of your
heart as you bring your requests and repeated requests before the Lord?
Are you sincerely seeking HIS will or are you seeking after your own selfish
desires? God does not respond to insincerity. Get rid of the routine,
robotic, recital of requests so you can really begin to pray wisely! I've
heard it said that with some people prayer is like putting the needle
on a phonographic record and then forgetting about it, and I agree! Far
too many Christians that have been saved for years live and die without
ever engaging in sincere conversation with the Lord. Many "model" prayers
have been written, published, memorized and recited by masses of people,
yet God says in vain they have substituted words of prayers for a real
heart to heart talk with Him. His Word says they assume they will be heard
for their much speaking, which proves they have little understanding of
the Lord, for
God will not listen to such insincere, meaningless verbiage. How wrong
of us it is as God's children to consume ourselves with such behavior
as those that do not
know the Lord as Savior! Prayer must begin with God's interests, not our
own... And ladies, God is interested in the condition of your heart far
more than He is interested in the circumstances of your life!
James 5:16b, "....The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth
much."
Do you really think that a holy, just God would answer any number of repetitive
prayers knowing the sinful, unrepentant condition of our hearts and overlook
it simply to grant our petitions as a sort of Santa Claus in the sky??
Common sense tells us that if that were the case, then we would improperly
use any answer to prayer we receive! Ladies, it's righteousness in our
lives that avails much, that brings power to our prayer life, not repetition.
Don't ever think that the condition of your heart is irrelevant to the
Lord! He is not obligated to answer you simply because you asked 150 times
for the same thing. We selfishly attempt to override God's will by wearing
Him out just like our children do when they want something of us. Righteousness
gains His attention. If you aren't interested in repenting in order to
receive the blessing of the Lord upon your life, then you have proven
the Word of God to be true - you've only asked so that you can consume
the answer upon your lusts, not upon the will of God. The will of God
is that we would have hearts that are right before Him FIRST. If that's
not a priority with you, then you are simply wasting your time and praying
unwisely.
You cannot expect God's blessings apart from obedience to His Word. It
is a step that cannot be bypassed in order to receive a desired answer.
As a matter of fact, the more you resist in yielding to the Lord, the
closer the devil comes near and will gladly grant your requests himself
to keep you from doing God's will, deceiving you into thinking God is
answering your prayers! Ladies, the safest and wisest thing for you to
do in prayer is repent and confess your sins. Do God's will first and
then bring your business before His throne. Then as He sees humility and
sincerity beating within your heart, He can honor your requests...
2 Chron. 7:14, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble
themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways;
then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal
their land.
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000 Pamela A. Iannello
