Somebody asked me the other day what I would do if I won R50 million in the Lotto. I must admit, it was a nice thought – and nice to just let my mind dwell on the answer for a while…. those few minutes gave me a kind of relief from my current pressures. It’s nice to think about things like that, isn’t it?
The more I thought about it, I wondered how I would really cope working with such a large amount of money. Most of us would assume this an immediate answer to our prayers and from then on our troubles would be over. However, as nicer a thought that it is, there is a not so nice side to it.
As mankind, we inherited a natural sinful nature through Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God (Gen 5:3). We’ve shared before how self-centred and proud this human nature is – God tells us through the Prophet Jeramiah “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9). Because this is the case, we may have the best intentions for our R50 million winning, even to bless the poor. But I’d like to challenge us by saying that we will never know with certainty, how we will spend that money – we may THINK we know what to do, but as the spending starts, things will change. I heard some statics once of how a great percentage of lotto winners have ended up far worse after their winnings, and some have even taken their own lives.
We’ve also discussed before about the two natures that we have within – our old human nature and God’s nature (the Holy Spirit). Daily, there seems to be a constant struggle between the two. In the case of the Lotto situation, our human nature side will have a great time spending the money, however, the intentions will all be based in self-centeredness and pride.
When we pray to the Lord from the side of our human nature, we tend to pray for things WE want, situations the WE believe WE have the solutions for and, we pray according to our emotions.
Let’s see what Jesus says:
Joh 14:13 “Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
Asking “in My Name” means asking in the CHARACTER of God as opposed to asking from our human nature. When we pray asking from God’s character, the Lord will answer immediately because the requests are coming from HIS character within us.
Look at these simple examples.
When I pray for something I want – perhaps to win the lotto, a fancy car, fancy house etc. – then I’m paying out of my human nature – self-centered prayers – on the other hand…
When I pray for salvation for people or for God’s will to be done in the lives of others or situations – then I’m praying out of Jesus’s character, in other words, the things Jesus wants – and He says the Father will answer.
As God’s character within us begins to grow stronger, our human nature begins to diminish, allowing the Holy Spirit to have more control of our lives. The prayers we then pray are naturally or automatically out of God’s character within us.
Joh 15:7 “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
Spending more time with God will teach us about His character.
Jesus actually tells us that in the day when we begin to pray from the nature of God within us, He will no longer have to intercede to the Father on our behalf because we will be praying FROM the very character of God within us.
Joh 16:26 “In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf;”
Lastly in the book of John, Jesus says something that should cause you and I to have a closer look at the way we currently pray, and the way we have been praying in the past.
He says “until now; you have asked for nothing in my name” (Joh 16:24). Can it be true that up to now we have only been praying out of our own will – asking God for what WE believe are solutions?
Let’s hear the Lord speaking to us today and when we next pray let’s seek HIS heart for the situation and ask out of HIS character’ – ask in HIS name.
It’s such a joy to share the Lord with each other…. May we truly appreciate the relationship the Master has made with us – bless you all – until next time.
From: “…time with the Master…”