THE RULE OF ASKING AND RECEIVING.

Blessed be the Name of of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Welcome to our today’s study of the Bible; God’s Word,which is a “lamp to our feet and a light to our path” ( Psalm 119:105).

It is important for us to know the various rules pertaining to how we ought to pray so that our prayers may be acceptable,answered prayers,thereby yielding fruit. In our past Bible study lessons (teachings),we have learnt some of these rules,and today,as it pleases God,we will look at another key rule.

The Word of God says;

‭James 4:2-3 (NIV‬ );

[2] “You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.
[3] When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. “

The Bible clearly states that the reason why we do not receive what we ask for in prayer is because we ” ask amiss”.We pray with wrong motives,and so we ask wrongly!!!

Asking wrongly here has nothing to do with our choice of words,or expressing ourselves in strong and persuasive words.In this Scriptural context, the Bible points out to the fact we ask for things that do not please God.We do not align our prayers (requests) to the will of God.For instance, asking God to give you so by it you may shut down or stop those who despise you is wrong! Such prayers seldom receive answers from God.

Therefore when you pray,consider the following:

1.)Have a Good Motive.

Having good motives means having a good purpose when praying. For example,if you want God to grant you success in your spiritual journey or your physical life, your attitude in prayer must be good.That you may delivered from the hardships you are facing,and that you may have what you need to help others.Not with the intention of stopping those tread down on you.If your motive is to possess material things or money for others to see, your prayers are less likely to receive answers from God.

2.)Ask for your Needs,not Money!

Many of us offer prayers that sadly to say are selfish wants and desires.We ask God to give us money because we think everything is all about money.We believe that to live a good life one must have money.Yet we are wrong.We tend to forget the most important things ,the basic needs like food,shelter, clothing, good health and so on.These,God is able to supply them for us.God is able to sustain us even without necessarily money being there.

If you lack food,pray.Do not ask God to give you money to by food,instead,tell Him to give what to eat.He will Himself bring you food in His own way.He may choose to open a door for you to get money to buy food, or he may send help through someone else.Our Heavenly Father has so many ways of feeding us even when there is no money.

In the same way,if you need clothing, shelter, business, health,among other things, ask the Father to provide them for you. Do not go to Him asking for money to buy clothes, build a house or to start a business, right away.Simply mention that need and God will grant it.He may open a door for you to get money and satisfy those wants.Or He may as well send help through a fellowman. While you you may be thinking of getting capital to start that business, it could be that God has ordained a place for you to start working without necessarily having money. Therefore, ask God to open up a business for you to operate rather than asking for money to start one.

If you need a working tool or need a means of transport, tell God about it. Don’t ask Him for money to buy them,tell God to give you that tool,that motorcycle, that machine, car and so on.He will provide what you need through the way He Himself knows.Likewise, if you want to travel, do not ask God to give you money as your fare.Instead, ask God to take you to where you want to go.He knows how to get you there. He will either send someone who will journey you to your destination at their own cost or without charging you anything.Or He may choose to make a way through which you will get money needed for the journey

When you fall sick,do not tell God to give you money for medication. Tell Him to heal you.He knows how He will take away that pain or illness and restore your good health. Apply the same rule to every other area of your life.Avoid mentioning “MONEY” while in God’s presence! Simply ask what you want in faith,not money.

Why do most prayers that are money-centred go unanswered? It is because there’s a spirit behind money that leads people into worldly lusts,and as a result ,many fall away from the faith, according to the scripture in ;

‭1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV‬ );

[10] “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Money is a snare,leading people to fall into temptation. This explains why a big percentage of the rich people are arrogant.However, those who become rich as a result of God’s blessings into their lives are humble,kind and generous to say.Take this,for example, a person who buys a bicycle using their own money and one who is gifted a bicycle by somebody else. Even though each one of them has a bicycle, yet the former will be more conceited than the latter.

Similarly, a person who builds a house by his own money will become prideful,unlike one who is gifted a house.But as is the truth,God’s will for us as Christians is to lead a quiet life characterised by humility and kindness, not pride. God will never give us things He knows will cause us to be arrogant.

There is a very small percentage of rich people whose wealthiness is a blessing from God.He has entrusted to them wealth and money because He knows He’s moulded their hearts such that they cannot at any point in life,become arrogant or mishandle what He’s given them,no matter how wealthier they grow.Yet for many of us,God has not given us the blessings of money we want because he knows how selfish our motives and desires are.If you ever encounter a rich person who lives and acts with arrogance,then know that his/her wealth is not from God!

As Christians, the Bible teaches us not to be lovers of money nor put our trust in it.Instead, we ought to glory in God and look to Him as our PROVIDER(JEHOVAH JIRE) always! That whether there is money or not ,we will still live on,be clothed,eat and possess things. We who are born again are able to live without money or things that are highly regarded by men as important. We can live far much better lives than those who own such things as these (material possessions).

‭Ecclesiastes 5:10( NIV‬);

[10] “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”

May the Lord help us.

Maran atha!

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