"The Lord restored Job’s losses when he prayed for his friends." —Job 42:10
“A pitiful, sickly, and self-centered kind of prayer and a determined effort and selfish desire to be right with God are never found in the New Testament. The fact that I am trying to be right with God is actually a sign that I am rebelling against the atonement by the Cross of Christ. I pray, “Lord, I will purify my heart if You will answer my prayer— I will walk rightly before You if You will help me.” But I cannot make myself right with God; I cannot make my life perfect. I can only be right with God if I accept the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ as an absolute gift. I must leave myself completely alone in His hands, and then I can begin to pour my life out in the priestly work of intercession. As a saved soul, the real business of your life is intercessory prayer. Whatever circumstances God may place you in, always pray immediately that His atonement may be recognized and as fully understood in the lives of others as it has been in yours. Pray for your friends now, and pray for those with whom you come in contact now.” Oswald Chambers
Foxhole religion. If you were ever in the military in a war you know what that is. It’s when you are afraid .. in mortal danger .. and you make a promise to God. “God if you will spare me I promise to be good.” We find ourselves in a jam and we are looking for a way out. So we say a prayer of the flesh – devoid of any spiritual context – and what happens when you are spared? The commitment you made to God when you prayed fades in your memory. So often we treat prayer like a 911 call. “I have an emergency and need to be rescued! Lord save me!” or perhaps “Lord restore what I have lost!” Why? Because my trust and confidence was in that which was lost and not in the One to Whom I am praying.
"And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, 'Lord, save me!' And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'” - Matthew 14:29-31
Like Peter with Jesus on the water. Peter was in a place where he was fixed on Jesus and not his circumstances. But when he lost focus, he panicked and began to sink, calling out to Jesus to save him.
“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.” - James 4:2-3
The New Testament is replete with admonitions to distance yourself from the world and the things of the world .. to trust God .. to not worry .. but we do anyway. What the Bible says to do .. you cannot do apart from Christ in you. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” God is not our first thought – He is our afterthought! Sound harsh? Listen – it is a problem that every Christian must contend with. Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God – the Father – with all of your being. That does not leave much room for anything else. But – out of that love will flow everything else. Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world. God is interested in our spiritual success and obedience not in our earthly affluence. Too many have compromised their faith because of the things of this world. Like the song of the sirens, you can be lured into the rocks of spiritual compromise, resulting in spiritual impotence. Be careful my friend. Wanting to not be like that will not make it so … that will happen when you commit your heart to God and pursue Him.
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