“Our Father in Heaven already knows what things we have need of”
| And Jesus says: In Matthew 6:25-34 Do Not Worry 25“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[a]? 28“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. |
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The illustration of prayer that our Lord used here is one of a good child who is asking for something good. We talk about prayer as if God hears us regardless of what our relationship is to Him (seeMatthew 5:45 ). Never say that it is not God’s will to give you what you ask. Don’t faint and give up, but find out the reason you have not received; increase the intensity of your search and examine the evidence. Is your relationship right with your spouse, your children, and your fellow students? Are you a “good child” in those relationships? Do you have to say to the Lord, “I have been irritable and cross, but I still want spiritual blessings?” You cannot receive and will have to do without them until you have the attitude of a “good child.” We mistake defiance for devotion, arguing with God instead of surrendering. We refuse to look at the evidence that clearly indicates where we are wrong. Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want, while refusing to pay someone what I owe him? Have I been asking God for liberty while I am withholding it from someone who belongs to me? Have I refused to forgive someone, and have I been unkind to that person? Have I been living as God’s child among my relatives and friends? (see Matthew 7:12 ). I am a child of God only by being born again, and as His child I am good only as I “walk in the light” ( 1 John 1:7 ). For most of us, prayer simply becomes some trivial religious expression, a matter of mystical and emotional fellowship with God. We are all good at producing spiritual fog that blinds our sight. But if we will search out and examine the evidence, we will see very clearly what is wrong— a friendship, an unpaid debt, or an improper attitude. There is no use praying unless we are living as children of God. Then Jesus says, regarding His children, “Everyone who asks receives . . .” ( Matthew 7:8 ). |
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So the question is, are we facing problems today and are wondering why the heavens have turned to brass concerning our prayers?
Are we wondering why our prayers seemingly have gone unheard and unanswered by God?
Could it be, as is pointed out in the above devotion, that there are certain areas of our life that we have stubbornly refused to deal with?
One thing that becomes plain for all to see, as we study the examples of scripture, which by the way we are told in 1 Corinthians 10 have been written for our example and for our edification, is that God will often test us to see if we will obey him or not; and He often does this while we are under pressure.
He certainly did this with the children of Israel, when He allowed them to suffer lack in the desert; and likewise God will not graduate us to the next level either until we learn our lesson where we are, and are obeying… or like the children of Israel, we also will go in circles, repeating past problems and trials, until we learn to submit and obey where we are.
This one is a biggy, are we harboring unforgiveness and bitterness in our hearts, and are justifying those feelings and hanging on to them because of something we have suffered from our past?
If we are, then we are ignoring the scriptures that tell us to NOT allow the sun to go down on our anger, least we give a foothold to the enemy in our life!
For those who are married, examine yourself to see whether you are honoring your covenant relationships, as you once vowed to do with your husband or wife, whichever the case may be, which you vowed before God to do until death do you part?
Ask yourself whether you are doing what the scripture says to do, when it says to submit first to God and then to each other in the marriage relationship?
If you are wanting God to keep His covenant relationship with you, to forgive you and extend grace to you for your mistakes and trespasses, should not you also do likewise and extend the same to your covenant partner?
We don’t want to be like the rich servant who owed his master a lot of money, and when he was released from his debt and forgiven, this ungrateful servant then turns to one who owed him a much smaller amount, and refused to do the same.
Truly as the Bible teaches in more than one place, that we cannot be forgiven of our trespasses and sins, unless we first learn to release and forgive others of their trespasses and sins against us.
These are all things that must be considered, because before we can call ourselves disciples of Christ, and before we can even say that we love God, we must first (as Jesus himself said) show that we do by the way we honor and obey His Word… trusting and obeying Him with ALL our heart, and not leaning upon our own understanding.
Christianity is a process or pilgrimage, if you will, that takes us through many different experiences and challenges; and the purpose for this is so that we may be molded into the image of God’s Son; that we may learn to discern and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit; and put on the mind of Christ… meaning that we begin to do and act in our situations as we learn to do in God’s Word the Bible, in all the many examples that are given there; and that we should in all things learn to walk and do as Jesus did in His earthly ministry.
That is the goal from God’s perspective, and it had better be our goal as well! Selah
Shalom,
Skip Barland
SB SALT AND LIGHT MINISTRIES 