The part we play in God listening to us:
BECOMING A CHILD OF GOD.
BECOMING A CHILD OF GOD.
DEVELOPING INTIMACY WITH HIM.
MAINTAINING A CLEAR CONSCIENCE
1 John 3:21-22 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.
“If our hearts do not condemn us.” No unconfessed sin. No guilt. A clear conscience sets the stage for a greater confidence in approaching God. Confidence literally means “boldness or freedom in speaking.” Ask and receive BECAUSE of obedience and pleasing God. The next verse summarizes God’s commands:
“And this is the commandment, that we should believe
on the name of His son Jesus Christ, and love one another…
Believe, love and do what is pleasing to God. If we are following this guideline, it is more difficult to ask amiss, which leads us to the next prerequisite in petitioning God.
ASK WITH RIGHT MOTIVES
James 4:2-3 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
1 John 3:21-22 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us,
we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.
“If our hearts do not condemn us.” No unconfessed sin. No guilt. A clear conscience sets the stage for a greater confidence in approaching God. Confidence literally means “boldness or freedom in speaking.” Ask and receive BECAUSE of obedience and pleasing God. The next verse summarizes God’s commands:
“And this is the commandment, that we should believe
on the name of His son Jesus Christ, and love one another…
Believe, love and do what is pleasing to God. If we are following this guideline, it is more difficult to ask amiss, which leads us to the next prerequisite in petitioning God.
ASK WITH RIGHT MOTIVES
James 4:2-3 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Selfishness, sometimes so subtle, is the basis for many of our asking of God prayers. Hedonistic, pleasure oriented attitudes will not produce the blessing and hearing of our Father.
Care must be taken here. God may answer “yes” to a selfish prayer but the consequences may be disastrous. For example, God’s plan was for Israel to be guided by prophets. Israel wanted a king so that they could be like all the other nations.
Psalms 106:15 describes the results of Israel’s answered prayer. So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease upon them.
That’s why we couch our petitions with “if it is Your will.” Let’s examine that next.
ASK IN GOD’S WILL
1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask— we know that we have what we asked of him.
The epitome of asking according to God’s will is heard in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus, struggling with all the angst of going to the cross, agonizingly prays, “Father, I’d prefer not going through this crucifixion” (the suffering of physical pain and death, the suffering of carrying the weight of the world’s sin on his shoulders, plus the separation from God the Father), “nevertheless, not my will but Yours be done.”
That’s why we couch our petitions with “if it is Your will.” Let’s examine that next.
ASK IN GOD’S WILL
1 John 5:14-15 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask— we know that we have what we asked of him.
The epitome of asking according to God’s will is heard in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus, struggling with all the angst of going to the cross, agonizingly prays, “Father, I’d prefer not going through this crucifixion” (the suffering of physical pain and death, the suffering of carrying the weight of the world’s sin on his shoulders, plus the separation from God the Father), “nevertheless, not my will but Yours be done.”
A question to ask ourselves in petitioning prayer, “If I’m not sure of what God’s will is, do I have that yielded spirit of Christ, ‘If it is not your will Father, I accept that.’”
My prayer for healing of PD is couched in the phrase, “If healing me will bring the greatest glory to You, please heal me. If the results of PD will somehow bring You more glory, are ultimately for my good and the good of others – Your will be done.”
Are you catching a glimpse of the conditions in petitioning God? More in tomorrow's post.
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