Study Guide
PRAYING AMISS
1,700 words, about 9 min read
One of the essential elements of prayer is truth. But one can easily pray amiss when truth is not an issue in the petitions we set before God. Again I say, truth is an essential part in determining what and whether we will receive from God. Please keep this at the forefront of your mind as you continue to read this section. Hopefully by the time you get to the end of it you will understand its meaning. Prayer is also a major player in the trying of our faith. Since prayer is communication with God, that communication is solely based on whether we agree with God. It is the intent of every trial to reveal either the steadfastness or the instability of our relationship with God.
Usually, when we pray about things regarding ourselves that are of a personal nature, it is due to challenges set before us, or desires lodged in our hearts. Though the solutions to both are the same, it is much easier to deal with challenges set before us first. When you agree with God, He is the Lord or Master of your soul. You are a willing slave to His will. Your heart should be that of an unprofitable servant, taking no thought for personal materialistic gain in all that you do. The challenges set before you should not be issues regarding moral obedience, but should rather pertain to seeking guidance in overcoming satanic hindrances to fulfilling the measure of the great commission given to you. In other words, the challenges we face should always pertain to the ministry of reconciliation, not the accomplishment of things pertaining to the flesh. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts, (James 4:3).
DESIRES OF THE HEART
But what about the infamous desires of the heart? What about the things we desire that may not be associated with sin. If I were to choose an example most in the Body could relate to, it would be the desire to be married, or as the young people say today, “to have a relationship.” By no means am I implying that all singles in the Body want to be married or involved in a relationship for that matter.
However, the principles I will relate here are universal regarding ‘want’ of any kind. Over the span of thirty plus years of ministry, I have had the opportunity to counsel many saints desiring to have a mate, both men and women. One case in particular contains all the elements needed to make plain this truth. This scenario took place in a ministry other than Bible Teachers International, and I was called upon by the pastor to assist in the counsel of these individuals. A young single man operating in ministry began to associate himself with a ministry-minded young lady. Initially, they were simply friends but surely the young lady began to develop an attraction that far exceeded friendship. Her heart moved to a desire for marriage. However, the young man did not seem to officially reciprocate that desire. Nevertheless, he was careful to maintain a friendship that he was also careful not to label “a relationship.” They saw each other quite frequently, which only served to perpetuate the attraction. The woman was impressed by what seemed to be non-aggressive sexual behavior which she attributed to his commitment to righteousness and a desire to live holy.
Nevertheless, he did say things or rather make ambiguous statements that could be interpreted as a subtle revealing of his attraction to her. In essence, these fleeting innuendos were sufficiently enough to keep her hope alive. Now the woman had prayed beforehand, asking God for a mate. Therefore, when Mr. Right came into her life it seemed to be an answer to prayer. Nevertheless, according to her own testimony, she went back to God asking Him to reveal to her whether he was the one she had waited for. She made promises to God concerning her commitment to Him, if He would only grant this desire of her heart. In the meanwhile, Pastor X became concerned about some unsavory elements of the relationship. These concerns were not of a sexual nature, but more of deception and cunning craftiness. That is when I was called in to counsel. After listening to each of them individually and separately, the Holy Ghost was faithful to reveal the truth about the affair. Mr. Right was struggling with his own identity and sexual preferences. He was not interested in intimacy with women. Though he knew his disposition was wrong and unacceptable to God, he was finding it difficult to overcome these overwhelming unlawful urges which sometimes arose. However, he was embarrassed by his own mentality and would occasionally seek out a friendly relationship with a female to serve as a mental distraction. But given the right female who seems to meet the qualifications that would allow him to completely control her, even marriage would be an option to consider. Though such a marriage would only serve to publicly cover or overshadow reality, such a facade could never render the spiritual conversion needed to take place in the young man’s life.
My heart went out to this young man as he confessed that he had prayed and asked God to help him find peace and rid him of this struggle. Though he was making attempts at ministering the Word, this young man had never really experienced the indwelling of the Spirit. I counseled the need to be baptized in the Holy Ghost. This would allow him to walk after the Spirit, which I discerned he was totally ignorant of. I assured him that to walk in the Spirit simply by agreeing with God, would remove all desires for anything unholy.
I ministered until I saw hope birthed in his soul. He wanted to believe me, but that would mean abandoning the comfort zone he had operated in for years. Nevertheless, the Lord instructed me to start this young man on a Word diet that would convince him of the power of walking in the Spirit. That was his only chance at peace. God was answering his prayer. But he would have to choose to seek God in earnest, instead of using cunning craftiness and even marriage to cover his true spiritual disposition.
During the course of my session with the young man I asked if he was opposed to me sharing the truth with the young lady he had ensnared, should it become necessary in an attempt to free her. He consented immediately and gave the impression of a genuine concern for her well-being. I knew he wasn’t altogether sincere, because he was quite sure that he had been successful in manipulating the mind and emotions of his young prey. His sexual preferences were real and his method of fitting into a heterosexual environment was learned behavior that had seemed to work to keep him safe from ridicule and shame. He did not fear her knowing the truth. He knew it would not move her. He was in control and no counseling session was going to change that. He was right. Sister Wanna-Be-Married sat very attentively, listening to a revelation of her spiritual location. I reminded her of how she had prayed and asked God to reveal to her if this young man was indeed her husband. I proceeded to point out the fact that this young man was not truly saved. She admitted having discerned the same. But she was thoroughly convinced that he was in love with her. Such being the case, he had to be the man for her.
Gently and as objectively as I possibly could, I began to share some of the things he had given me permission to disclose. Her demeanor never changed. In fact, she admitted to having seen things about him that pointed to this information being fact. The bottom line is she wanted him and the truth did not matter. Somehow, her involvement in his life was going to change him. Somehow this man was going to submit to her desire of him, even though he had not submitted to God’s desire. Truth had become irrelevant. It had no place in the true desires of the young woman’s heart. Though prayer asked for it, lust and wantonness forbade it. But the prayer also asked for God to grant the marriage. Though clearly His answer was “no”, the Lord simply provided her with the truth as to what she was getting herself involved in. It was then her responsibility to choose righteousness because God had fulfilled His promise to lead and guide her into all truths.
When situational truth and the infallibility of God’s Word are disregarded, you alienate yourself from fellowship with God. Those who worship Him must do so in Spirit and in Truth. Discern the Father and search out His ways. Prayer is a platform that reveals our true spiritual disposition towards God. God will turn our petitions into trials that reveal our obedience to the Word or the lack of it. These trials are designed to either approve us or reveal our unacceptability. Our response to the truth reveals character and integrity or the lack thereof.