~John 9:31
While researching today’s topic, I ran across a post by a young lady who read this verse and said she was now “scared” because everything she had read about God was that He loves us, so if this verse is true, she didn’t know what would happen to her soul when she died. Honestly, I kind of chuckled over the post but as I began to think about her words, it occurred to me that she’s really confused over who God is, what He’s all about and why Jesus came to earth. Many years ago, someone told me of a vision (attributed to Rick Joyner, however, I can’t confirm) about prayers being arrows shot toward Heaven. The prayers of the saints (those who know Jesus as their Savior) were collected by an angel and put into his quiver, but those prayed by sinners where deflected by the angel’s shield and sent hurling into space. That analogy has stuck with me all this time, and it illustrates the verse in John. God hears our prayers when we 1) have accepted Christ as our Savior 2) pray with right motives 3) pray according to His will 4) our prayers line up with Scripture.
“You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:2-4).”
It’s been my experience that enemies don’t want to do things for you. In fact, enemies don’t want you involved in their lives in any way at all. When we choose to live in the world, with all it’s corruption, we are telling God that we choose to be His enemies. Yet, when things go wrong, we still want God to fix it for us, or we want to blame Him. You can’t ride two horses with one saddle, folks. You either choose the world and all its lusts, or you choose God and all His blessings. You can’t have it both ways. When you choose an action, you are also choosing the consequences. Follow the ways of this world, you go to hell. Follow Jesus Christ and you reap His many blessings, including Heaven.
“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:1-5).”
1) Accept Christ as your Savior
2) Pray with right motives
3) Pray according to God’s will
4) Align your heart with Scripture, the heart of God
When people try to walk the fence between this world and a life with Christ, they are going to fall, and usually, it’s on the side of the world. We have to make choices in life every single day, and that includes life and death, Heaven or hell, Jesus or satan. When you choose the world, you are choosing death, hell, and satan. God loves us, He is always waiting on us to choose Him, but until we do, our prayers will not be answered.
Read 2 Chronicles 16-20
Weekend Reading 2 Chronicles 21-25
©2018 Marie McGaha
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