PRAYER (cont'd)
One other problem causes failure in delivery activation for many.
The problem is lusting or desiring something that is not good for
us or we don’t really need, just something to please our fleshly
desires. James warns about this in James 4:3 telling his readers,
“Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may
consume it upon your lusts.” God is not interested in boosting
the strength of your flesh or your worldly desires. This would be
counter to His love for us because it would keep us from becoming
more like Jesus. So, we must ask in faith with a pure motive for that
which God would have us have because it will help us become more like
Jesus.
There are basically three ways that God can positively answer a prayer.
One way is to say yes and give us what we ask for before we can even
get done asking for it. God says in Isa. 65:24, “And it shall
come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they
are yet speaking, I will hear.” This shows us how well God knows
what we need. So much so that He could and often does supply it even
before we can finish asking for it. What a great God! Secondly, God
can say yes but send what we ask for at some later date. Jesus explains
in Luke 18:7, “And shall not God avenge His own elect, which
cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them?”
Yes, God will hear and answer, but He may choose to deliver the answer
to our requests at a later time. God’s timing is not ours and
He it is that knows when the proper time is for us to receive. We
simply need to trust Him on this for He deeply cares for us. God can
also positively say no. Paul pleaded with God to have a problem removed
because Paul thought that removing it would help him serve God better.
He tells us about it in II Cor. 12:8-9 saying, “For this thing
I besought (pleaded with) the Lord thrice (three times), that it might
depart from me. And He said unto me, ‘My grace is sufficient
for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’”
Here God’s plan was better than Paul’s plan. God had a
more perfect answer to the problem. He didn’t remove Paul’s
problem, instead He gave Paul the grace to accomplish His will in
spite of the problem, which allowed Paul to have more power for ministry
than if he had gotten it removed. God is always good and will do what
is best in answering our prayers. Be assured of this, He will answer
those prayers given in faith and in accordance with His will.So we
need to pray, asking God for our needs and the needs of others. What
else should we do? We also need to give thanks to God, I Thess. 5:18
and Psa. 118:1, and we need to give Him praise, Psa. 118:21. If all
we did when we went to our parents as children was to ask for things
and we never took time to say thank you or to pat our parents on the
back for all they do for us, what would the likely answer be to some
of our requests? God is a loving God, but He is also a jealous God
and we need to show Him that He is first in our lives. We need to
take time to give Him thanks and to praise Him for His wonderful kindness
towards us.
Now that we know a little about what prayer is, when are we supposed
to pray? We can find the answer in I Thess. 5:17 which reads, “Pray
without ceasing.” Wow, this means we are never to stop praying.
We are to constantly be praying or be in communication with God. Paul
even says we are to be, “continuing instant (constantly) in
prayer.” Rom. 12:12. This does not mean that we should walk
around with our eyes closed talking to God. That for sure would end
up in travesty. What we need to do is to never cut off our line of
communication with God. Some would say that we need to always be in
an attitude of prayer, but it’s more than this. God should always
be ever present in our minds as though He walked along side of us
every step of the day. Our hearts should always be turned towards
Him making conversation as we go, whether that conversation is expressed
in words or feelings or gestures, as though He were present there
with us, for He indeed is.
This thought shows us why Paul in Phil. 4:6-7 says, “Be careful
(anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God, and the
peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep (guard)
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” This is praying
all the time about everything (physical needs, spiritual needs, needs
of others, understanding, wisdom, guidance, etc., literally everything),
being in constant contact with God, never losing sight of His presence,
walking totally by faith, and having the great peace of God dwell
in our hearts. This is exciting Christianity! Pray!
