Prayer is Conditional: Some of it is up to You.

Prayer is a conversation with God, two way communication where we enter into God’s presence and listen to his priorities and learn about his heart as well as tell him what is happening in our lives. It’s not that God doesn’t know about our lives. He does. But the most important part of prayer, and maybe most neglected, is when we take time to listen.  Check out these scriptures, and tell me what you think in the comments below.

Read Ps 37:4: The passage says that God gives us the desires of our hearts. Does this mean he gives us whatever we set our hearts on? I’m not so sure. This promise has a condition. First God asks us to delight ourselves in him. When we do this, we set our hearts on Him. We pursue his priorities. THEN – God fills our hearts with his desires for us, and goes to work fulfilling his will, work and desires.

Read I John 5:14-15: God says we can be confident . . . we can be absolutely assured that we have what we ask of him. When? When we ask according to his will. He calls us to pursue his desires, care about what he cares about, and set our hearts on him.

Read John 15:7-8: when we abide in Christ, we have the things we ask of Him. Again, this isn’t a blank check, (as I hear preached WAY too often) but a charge to focus our hearts on him. THEN he answers our prayers, and he is glorified.

Think about your children (if you have any). When are you more likely to give them the things that they request of you? Do you give them whatever they want, at any time, under any conditions? Or do you look at their behavior. Are they are listening to you? Are they getting their work around the house done? Are they treating their siblings, and you, with grace and kindness? You weigh all these factors when they approach you, and ask for stuff, right?

You don’t love them any less because your responses are conditional, and connected to their behaviors and how much you can trust them. These parenting skills descend from our heavenly Father. His love never changes, yet God will sometimes withhold his hand if he sees that a greater treasure can be formed by the transformation he wants to see in your heart before giving you what you seek.