Your Wish Is NOT God’s Command…

James 4:2-3 You lust and do not have. You are envious and cannot obtain;… You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.

I suppose someone will now begin to yell at me about ask (and you will find) seek (and you will be given) knock (and it will be opened) Matthew 7:7-12.

Or “mountain moving faith” (faith the size of a mustard seed will move a mountain from here to there – NOTHING will be impossible for you) Matthew 17:19-21.

Let us not forget the whatever prayer  (“Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do.”) John 14:14.

Yes, I have heard all of these quoted, most of them in VERY LOUD voices as if God needs our version of a hearing aid. But I rarely hear the verse above all verses, especially in the context of getting what I want…

John 14:15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”

I’m just sayin…

Some of us only want the power to name it and claim it, which, when given to a child will always be used (at least attempted to be used) to rule over the parent.

That is until they (all of us untrained brats) are TRAINED UP (Proverbs 22:6)!

Trained up by our Trainer-in-Chief!

John 16:7-8 “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”

I truly do believe that God does give His power to heal, move mountains, and generally speak miracles into being… BUT… I do not believe He gives us His POSITION as God… Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

I myself have spent a great deal of time in my walk, trying to discover the “magic words” of prayer. Who doesn’t want God to give what we seriously believe  we “NEED”? I have agonized over not having the “miracle gift” of the Spirit (the name it and claim it one). I have repented – practiced – fasted (somewhat) – pretended – and boldly proclaimed! In fact, I have (I’m embarrassed to say) even given up on prayer because “it doesn’t work for me”.

And then I got God’s invitation… a dinner date with Jesus.

Revelation 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. 

And what, pray tell, do we talk about at these dinner dates? Jesus speaks into my life about our RELATIONSHIP… NOT the genie in the bottle meme… but my Abba/child, ADOPTION by the Triune God of the Universe. A Bible study on asking, seeking and knocking on our Father’s door… Matthew 7:7-11 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened, Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! 

I once had someone tell me that Scripture tends to indicate that we don’t HAVE TO pray for anything because God supplies all of our needs WITHOUT OUR ASKING. Indeed… sounds like Satan talking again (Eve, Did God REALLY say_______). If God is so good why would He make you ASK? 

We may not HAVE TO… after all God gave us free will. But why would we not?

Why would a child of the Triune God of the universe not run to Daddy with EVERYTHING?

Prayer IS, at its core, a request for God’s provision and submission to His Will, by His child who knows Him intimately. Opposition to prayer, at its core, is really the desire to demand and control our own life… Genesis 4:7  sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it.”

God KNOWS all of our needs – we don’t! We know what we WANT – He knows what we have to have…

Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

God is good, all the time! And all the time, God is good!

As far as I am concerned… God can CLAIM my future and NAME my hope!

His wish is HIS COMMAND!

I pray His command might become my wish.

**All Scripture quoted comes from the “Bible Gateway” app and is the NASB version of the Bible