WHY SHOULD GOD BE SO GENEROUS TO YOU?
SATURDAY 22 JULY 2023
God makes our lives more desirable, highly favoured, and supremely blessed when we pray for such grace and empowerment - with the right motive in mind. More below!
Reference: Psalm 119:17 Amplified Bible (AMP) "Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word [treasuring it and being guided by it day by day."
David prayed that God would make his life wonderful and bountifully blessed - for the right reason, which is for him to live and keep His Word, by treasuring it and being guided by it day by day. Indeed, the measure of our intentions in relation to obtaining divine favour and fulfilling our purpose in God is the measure of God's gift to us.
Question: What is your motive for asking God's generous or bountiful blessings to be richly manifested in your life? James 4:3 reads, "And even when you ask, you don't get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure"(NIV).
God responds to the right motives because right motives are viewed by God as the tools that communicate His rewarding values and reflect the purpose in His mind. That's the reason it is regarded as the touchstone of His reward design. So God can visualise the dangers His children may run into who forsake His will in prayer to follow their carnal confidence. Otherwise, the riches of their answered prayers will be spent on ungodly interests and even turn to a bad ending, far beyond any short-term gain they might generate. Therefore, in order to stay relevant in God's calendar, you must remain willing to change any motive that doesn't bring pleasure to God in your prayer life. Got it? So James suggests to us that the certainty of favourable answers to our petition will never be in vain when we ask aright with pure motives.
Why did I mention prayer? It is because prayer is the most important communication tool designed for engaging in fellowship with God. How do you maintain the right motives? Paul noted it in Philippians 2:12-13 saying, "Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose" (NIV). Notice that in this Scripture, Paul talks about obeying God with deep reverence and fear - in his absence. In other words, you maintain the right motives by walking in the fear of God. In addition, "In Paul's absence" also involves the heart and mind realm because Paul as a human vessel, cannot scan the mind of men.
If the thought is to please God with what we get, then Davidic inspiration teaches us of our need for God's generosity, and surely, His answers to us will be full of His riches and mercies, because the Word assures us that we shall get what we need with the right motives. When you have the word always diligently searched, heartily received, and carefully observed, you will retain it in your memory and nurture it in your heart, which in turn, will influence the motives behind your prayer requests. This is one of the reasons apostle Paul encouraged the indwelling of the Word in a rich measure, according to Colossians 3:16 (NKJV). When you allow the Word to dwell richly in you, it imports a regarding of its meaning, purpose and dictates, as well as a remembering of it, which produces the right motives.
More so, approaching God in prayer is not just about granting our petitions when we express His Kingdom and its righteousness through our desires, as we engage His favour. The case is more than just His provision because He positions us to sit at His table and feast there as we desire. Surely He who knows what we require as His precious children, will open His hand and satisfy our desires in line with His perfect will, meaning that He is not going to leave our sincere prayers unanswered or unrewarded. Shalom!
Scripture Reading - 1 Chronicles 28:9; Matthew 6:5-6; 1 Corinthians 10:31; John 14:13; 1 Peter 4:11.
Exuberant Declaration: My motives and imaginative solutions behind my prayer life align with God's perfect will and purpose for my life. They are full of godly values which serve as a vehicle that delivers my prayers as being acceptable in God's sight. Hence, I thank God for making His decisions oftentimes to answer my prayers in my favour. Hallelujah!
