“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.” (Jer. 33:3)
Almost everyone ever born has called on God, at one time in their life, not the Lord God, but a god of their design, one they have envisioned in their mind to be benevolent, kind and concerned about them. The sailors at sea when foreboding clouds begin to appear on the horizon, the one who sees those same clouds approaching his house, the mother in the intensive care ward calls upon a god for her child, even the guy on the eighteenth green who, if he makes this last put,t will win the day.
Most people envision a god who serves them, and unfortunately many who sit in the pews on Sunday morning do also.
“And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” (Deut. 31:8) “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14)
They want God to serve them, and as long as they try to be good, they believe He will.
I find few Christians these days who believe and understand 2 Timothy 3:12, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” They repeat the magic charms, they enter the building with a cross in it somewhere like clockwork once a week, for if they remain obedient to the assembling of themselves together, the bad things of this life will be kept at bay. These individual’s prayers are mostly encapsulated by the words, “Give me, I need this or that, I want” in one form or another. They have come to the North Pole to directly ask Santa Claus for something, either something that will make their life easier, less stressful, or something they want removed from their presence. And because they have come to trust that hallowed ground, that Holy building, they show by that deed that they are obedient servants, at least their perception of what a servant should be.
I am reminded here of this verse, “And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?” (Acts 19:15) How many people across the planet do you believe sit in those pews week after week that are no less than uninvited guests, that have no personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ whatsoever? How many are nice, caring, at least outwardly, good people who do not just follow the rules and regulations of the land they live in, but do not enforce their religious beliefs upon others. How many people can, and do, fake the fruits of the Spirit?
Ask yourself this question, when was the last time you can recall praying that you did not ask the Lord for something for yourself? Now that we have struck a nerve here, so to speak, ask yourself this question also, is your service to the Most High God dependent upon answers from Him that are of a positive nature?
I believe in part I have just answered to Matthew 15:8, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” “If I get what I want, at least a small part of what I have been praying about, I will follow you, if not, well, I’m going to need to rethink this relationship.”
I offer you this in context along with what some of you may interpret as a very disparaging letter, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20) If you are indeed dead to self, why ask for things for yourself, especially those items that you know for a fact will in no way glorify the Lord God? If you know without question that your heavenly home awaits, why are you praying for just one more day of life here on this earth? If indeed you hold fast to the truth of Philippians 4:19, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” then what wants are so valuable to you that you believe now that you “need?”
I believe with all my heart that that when you pray, if you could envision yourself in the very throne room of the Almighty Himself, your prayer life would be altered in such a way that you would not recognize it anymore. When the storm comes, you would no longer fear it, but see the hand of God in it. You would come closer to realizing, and living, the truth of Philippians 1:21, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
