February 17                                  Prov 12 - 14

REQUESTS: WHAT CONFIGURATION?

MEMORISE: ‘If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.’ (John 15:7)
READ: Psalms 78:24-31

What you ask and the motives for asking it are important to God, because they are capable of affecting whether you get the desired answer or not. James 4:3 says: ‘Ye ask, and receive not because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.’

The reason some ask, but cannot receive is because they have asked for the wrong thing or have asked for the right thing with the wrong motive. God promises to give us our heart’s desires, but not to satisfy or gratify the lust of our flesh. If you ask God for a good wife, He will give her to you. But if you ask for the type of woman who will be prepared to stay with you in bed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, God will not approve of that.

The reason is that He knows sex is only a fraction of what marriage entails. If He grants such a request, the couple will not only be useless to Him, they will be useless to their fellow man, and have no time to attend to their spiritual well-being. In the process, Satan will easily prey on them. If you force God to give you your lust, it will come with negative consequences. The children of Israel despised God’s restricted provision in the wilderness and lusted after flesh. They remembered Egypt and kept pestering God until He gave them their lustful desires.

‘And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, as it was been chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague’ (Num 11:33).

This shows that some lustful requests are nothing but an invitation for God’s divine judgement. Be careful what you ask, and of your motive, so that you don’t bring God’s judgement upon yourself. On the other hand, by continuously yielding to God, obeying Him and growing in the Word, you will become like Him, to the point that you will have the same desires as He does. Then He can conveniently give you both your needs and wants.

ACTION POINT
Analyze your desires and requests from God. Which of them are intended to satisfy the lust of the flesh? Discard them.