Did you call your brother a fool?

Have you ever helped someone out who then goes on to take full credit for your work without acknowledging any part of your contribution? How did that make you feel?

Why am I bringing this up? Well, this thought struck me a week back when the pastor said while praying instead of supplicating start declaring. This was in line with what I had read in a book some time back. The author felt that the Arab nations have become so powerful because every single day, five times a day, they are declaring the greatness of their God from a zillion homes and mosques. So there is immense power in declaring into the atmosphere.

Jesus himself had said, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed then you can move mountains. All you have to do is declare to the mountain, and it would move. But are we mature enough in our faith to be able to make that declaration? What could stop our declaration from having the desired effect?

Couple of biblical instances come to mind. Uzziah, a king of Israel, decided to burn incense in the temple of God. The priests try to stop him since it's not lawful. Uzziah gets angry and starts raging at the priests. Immediately, he is struck with leprosy and that too on his forehead. I am assuming he used some choice abuses to put the priests in their place. After all, he was the king and they dared oppose him.

The second instance is that of Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu. The story goes that they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD. We don't know what this unauthorized fire was all about but the fact is God didn’t like the way they went about it.

While we are not burning incense and offering fires today, one thing is clear, you need to enter the presence of God with a clean heart. Some of the things God takes into account before answering prayers:

Bragging: If his answering your prayer can lead to you bragging about your own greatness then he is unlikely to respond. (1 Cor 1: 29). Like I mentioned at the beginning if someone took credit for your work then it’s unlikely that you will help that person out the next time. Also, the last time your prayer was answered, did you thank god or did you claim full credit for your success?

Wrong motives: Our motive should be pure, and not for gratifying our own egos and desires. James 4:3 says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

Lust: What’s the big deal in that? What harm can it cause? Apparently a lot. Matthew 5:28 says that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. I think we can extrapolate that to other parts of our life as well.

Abusing/cursing: Most of us might have at least mentally abused someone at some point. Matthew 5:22 says anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Hatred: Matthew 6:15 says if we do not forgive others their blunders then neither is God likely to forgive us ours.

These are just a few things that can serve as an impediment. But these are factors that any of us can be guilty of at any point in time. So next time there is no response examine yourself. As Isaiah 59:1-2 says your wrong thoughts and actions have hidden God’s face from you so that he will not hear. But as John 15:7 says if Christ’s words remain in us then we can ask whatever we wish for and it will be given to us. Seems simple enough to do but quite tough in practical terms.

Helpful Links
  1. Dawson McAllister on why god doesn’t answer prayers: Abridged version: http://www.christianitytoday.com/iyf/advice/faithdoubt/why-doesnt-god-answer-my-prayers.html
  2. Longer version: http://www.christiananswers.net/q-dml/dml-y002.html
  3. Unknown Author: http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/why-does-god-not-answer-my-prayer
  4. David Wilkerson’s six reason prayers are not answered: http://www.tscpulpitseries.org/english/undated/tssixrea.html
  5. Charles J. Brooks: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/so-whats-big-deal-prayer-charles-j-brooks

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