Knock 3x

Okay, sorry. The reference to the old Tony Orlando song came into my brain without warning. It seemed somehow appropriate.


The third and greatest barrier that we have to get through in order to receive what we ask for and seek in prayer is probably ourselves. We are often our own worst enemies.

The epistle of James says that the primary reason we don't have what we need is because we don't ask. Covered that. Then it says that, when we DO ask, we ask for the wrong reasons. We ask to satisfy our own selfish deisres.

This is where a lot of people run into problems. They pray for something they really want. Something they've even convinced themselves they need. And God doesn't come through. Or He takes too long. And, if their prayers aren't answered, well, prayer doesn't work. The next step is usually: there's no one out there listening. God doesn't exist. And they abandon faith entirely.

This whole line of thought is based on a faulty assumption: that prayer is some kind of 'magical' thing by which I get God to give me what I want. Prayer is a way to manipulate God.

That's not Christianity, its shamanism. It's absurd to think that we can make God do what we want. If any one of us could, that would make us the god(s). It's role reversal and it doesn't work.

But if prayer is about relationship, the whole focus changes. Yes, we can ask for what we want, but we should not be surprised if our Father shakes His (figurative) head and says no. No more candy. Spinach is what you need and you're not getting up from the table until you eat it.

The objective in prayer is rather to discover what God wants for us and to ask for that. Just like the child who'd rather have chocolate than spinach, we don't at first want to ask for it, much less ask for a second helping. But somewhere along the line, the child grows up. He has to pay his own dental bills and the gym fees to burn off all those candy calories. He discovers why his father limited the sweets. And if, in the process of growing up he has also matured in character, he opts for the veggies instead of dessert.

In discovering what God wants for us we learn His values. We discover Him as a person. And we become more like Him. And we see our desires from His much wider perspective.

Jesus said that if anyone wanted to follow Him, he should deny himself, take up his cross and (actively) follow. We balk at the denial part (and never get to the cross), especially if our experience of the church is one of rules and regulations governing all the things Christians aren't supposed to do. I've been there. But I've come to believe that the whole self-denial thing is less about some rule that says, 'No, I can't have that.' and more about exchanging an infantile set of desires for adult ones. And it's about learning to trust that God knows what I need and won't forget me.

Knocking on the barrier of self-centeredness is one of the most difficult things believers have to do. Sometimes, with persistent temptations and desires, only the brute force approach works; all you can do is 'Just say no' to yourself. Some people never get past that. But whenever we do get past ourselves in prayer, whole new vistas are open to us. We begin to think as God thinks. We begin to love what He loves.

And when you and God are on the same wavelength, miraculous things happen.