Can I believe God will give me what I want? Part 1

To really help, I must split this into 2 smaller Devos, instead of 1 long book! ☺

The answer is yes…when you ask God according to what He thinks is best for you! Nate, you tricked me! No, I did not! Health, Wealth, and Prosperity teachers have deceived you! God is not the genie in the bottle that you command. He is not Santa Claus that you give a list to…expecting it to be filled. You won’t get what you want by “declaring it, claiming it, or speaking it into existence” and adding the ingredient “In Jesus Name!” loudly thinking that you can intimidate God into your will! If God gave us everything we wanted we would be destroyed! 

Live under this umbrella – “My greatest desire is to possess what You want for me, Jesus!” 

In John, Jesus encountered a blind man. Here is where He illuminates this Truth. He always has the ability to do whatever we ask, that is never the issue…but in His name means - For His Purpose!

John 9:2–3 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man or his parents?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but he was born blind so that the acts of God may be revealed through what happens to him.

We should always be at peace to ask God for our desires, while we remember that His desires are for our best and we cannot see what He sees. I have had disciples ask for a promotion and then manipulated the circumstances to get it, only to lose their walk with the Lord once they received it. I have asked God for His will, even though the only path I allowed to open was my will. Those are regrets that I have had to live through. 

However, I do want to share that if you desire to approach God and ask Him for something, Mark shares 6 mindsets that should exist, so that when you ask, if you desire the very thing God desires, you will see Him give you what you want. 

Mark 10:46-52 

        1. Stop waiting for the perfect circumstances.

Then they came to Jericho…together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus…was sitting by the roadside begging. 

Trying to control circumstances will lead us to manipulation.

Charlie Brown was in his back yard having target practice with his bow and arrows.  He would shoot an arrow, it would hit the wooden fence…then he would go draw a circle around it. Lucy said, You draw the target, then shoot the arrow.' Charlie's response: 'I know that, but, if I do it my way, I never miss!"

Bartimaeus had nothing going for him; he was blind and so poor he had to beg for himself, so he was alone. Yet, he ignored those roadblocks as we see when he determined to get Jesus’ attention. Circumstances are rarely perfect so we must learn to move in faith in spite of them.  

        2. Assume responsibility for your own life.

When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me

He did not just hope his situation would fix itself. If life is not where you want it to be, accept it is that way, and then choose to do something about it. 

3. Stop worrying about what others will say.

Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Even though others tried to stop him, he refused to give up. Our culture, especially the “elite” and “popular” who are slaves to the latest fade will try to make you feel stupid or ignorant because you look to God for direction and supply in your life. 

Faith is believing what God thinks is all that matters, popular or not, culturally correct or not, even demonized or ridiculed. 

The So What: Have you ever taken a stand for God against what the world prefers? What happened? How did you feel? Do you believe trusting God is easy? Do you understand that when you stand with God, you never stand-alone? When you cave to the world’s wants you DO stand-alone!