Many times we sit and wonder if our prayers are being heard and why we aren’t getting what we ask for. We don’t get what we want because we either don’t ask or when we do ask, the scripture says we ask “amiss” meaning improper or faulty. God says that “ye consume it upon your lusts”, meaning that when we ask for stuff our plan is to put it to use for our pleasure and not concerning God. Let’s say you are sitting in MSC with your friends. Someone you have never seen before comes up to and asks to borrow $20. (Now I don’t know about ya’ll, but regardless of how much my overpayment check is, $20 is a lot of money.) So naturally your response is no. Then you start to think this person is watching you because for about a week or two every time you’re in MSC they come up to you UNCHANGED asking the same question like your answer is going to magically change. This is how we ask God for the “stuff” we want in our lives. We don’t know Him, but that lady at church said she prayed for a Lexus and she got it so we think we might as well try it. We don’t even know the Man and when finals come around we make sure we have a seat in chapel and are praying and asking Him to help us “just pass” this class we need to graduate. Not only are we strangers to Him, but we come to Him UNCHANGED every time. Dressed in that sin we had on the first time we asked Him for some rims because we have yet to repent.
Look, some of ya’ll don’t even know what repent is, but are pondering as to why your “sincere” prayers have yet to be answered. To repent is to confess your sins to God and ask for forgiveness. Prayer means talking to God as though you have a relationship with Him. How can you have a relationship with someone if you don’t know them? Does God know who you are? I’m not asking if He knows Big Mama or your Auntie who has been praying for you. Does He know who you are personally? If you haven’t accepted Christ and submitted yourself to God then He doesn’t know you. If you don’t talk to Him every day then you won’t have that personal relationship with Him.
Many of us are searching for that secret place with God that we know we should have and we don’t even have a relationship with Him. We need to talk to God, not only when we need or want something, but even if we
don’t think we need or want anything. When everything is going great like that relationship and our grades, we need to realize that it is not a reflection of our doing but proof of God’s grace and mercy not allowing, yes I said allowing, the devil to step in this time.