Are You Missing Out on Your Main Power Source?
Are You Missing Out on Your Main Power Source?
"You do not have because you do not ask. You ask, and you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." - James: 4:2b-3
"You do not have because you do not ask. You ask, and you do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." - James: 4:2b-3
Why is it that we simply miss out on this incredible power source? Is it because we donât take time to pray?
Not necessarily.
Number one: We feel weâre too busy. Period.
Number two: There are a lot of people here that are so self-reliant that if you begin to pray, that is an acknowledgement that you need help outside yourself. You almost feel like a prayer is a cop-out rather than strength from God to enhance what you do.
Number three: There are bound to be people that just donât really believe in the power of prayer. Youâve asked, and it hasnât been given to you. And because of disappointment of your prayer life, youâve decided to give up on it. Did you know that part of why prayer is powerless is we simply donât pray?
Another reason we give up on prayer is we have the wrong motives. We see prayer as calling on God, this genie in the sky. If we can just get His attention, Heâll give us exactly what we want. But Godâs Word is very clear. Thatâs a big reason that our prayer life can become powerless because weâre focused on what we want usually in regards to material needs. And in the process, we can find prayer very disappointing.
Now all of you grandparents know what itâs like to take a young child into a store â especially a toy store. That child sets their eyes on something that they want, and you feel like itâs best for them not to have it. And all of a sudden youâve got a meltdown of one of your children in that store. You know everybody is looking at you and you grin sheepishly. âGimme this!â âI want that!â âI HAVE to have it!â And sometimes, all of a sudden, something seizes your heart and we weak grandparents end up giving it to them! I donât know what happens to all of my parenting skills and self discipline, but itâs like they just go out the window.
What does this have to do with prayer? Well, God is not a grandfather. Heâs a Father. And as a loving Father, He knows what is best for His children. Grandfathers often lose their minds and forget what is best, but a good father is seeking to be conscious of what is best for his children. And thatâs how God is with us. When weâre asking with a selfish motive in prayer, we can be very disappointed in our prayer life. You see, more times than not, our prayers are âall about me,â rather than trying to understand how God wants us to pray.
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Not necessarily.
Number one: We feel weâre too busy. Period.
Number two: There are a lot of people here that are so self-reliant that if you begin to pray, that is an acknowledgement that you need help outside yourself. You almost feel like a prayer is a cop-out rather than strength from God to enhance what you do.
Number three: There are bound to be people that just donât really believe in the power of prayer. Youâve asked, and it hasnât been given to you. And because of disappointment of your prayer life, youâve decided to give up on it. Did you know that part of why prayer is powerless is we simply donât pray?
Another reason we give up on prayer is we have the wrong motives. We see prayer as calling on God, this genie in the sky. If we can just get His attention, Heâll give us exactly what we want. But Godâs Word is very clear. Thatâs a big reason that our prayer life can become powerless because weâre focused on what we want usually in regards to material needs. And in the process, we can find prayer very disappointing.
Now all of you grandparents know what itâs like to take a young child into a store â especially a toy store. That child sets their eyes on something that they want, and you feel like itâs best for them not to have it. And all of a sudden youâve got a meltdown of one of your children in that store. You know everybody is looking at you and you grin sheepishly. âGimme this!â âI want that!â âI HAVE to have it!â And sometimes, all of a sudden, something seizes your heart and we weak grandparents end up giving it to them! I donât know what happens to all of my parenting skills and self discipline, but itâs like they just go out the window.
What does this have to do with prayer? Well, God is not a grandfather. Heâs a Father. And as a loving Father, He knows what is best for His children. Grandfathers often lose their minds and forget what is best, but a good father is seeking to be conscious of what is best for his children. And thatâs how God is with us. When weâre asking with a selfish motive in prayer, we can be very disappointed in our prayer life. You see, more times than not, our prayers are âall about me,â rather than trying to understand how God wants us to pray.
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