"And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."
1 John 5:14-15
This is really cool. It takes a little bit of faith, but it really works. Asking according to God's will guarantees an answer. :) Now, God's timing might be different from ours, and the amount of effort that we, personally, have to put in might be perceived a little differently by God... but he will answer us. The thing is to ask for things that we know that he wants to give us. Faith... Love... Forgiveness... Mercy... Truth. Probably not new cars we don’t need, or gold-plated Monopoly sets. But friends... yes. Opportunities to share the gospel... opportunities to repent, to heal wounds and rifts, to bless other people's lives. :) Now, these things might seem impossible to us, the wounds too deep, the rifts too wide, the friends too remote. Everyone around us might belong to some anti-Mormon hate group, and so we might wonder how all these things will come to pass... but they will. When we ask for things that God wants to give us, he'll find a way to bless our lives with those things. In his time, and in his way... but it will definitely happen. Let's gather our faith today, and ask God for something that we know he wants us to have... and then work for the results. :)
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him."
1 John 5:14-15
This is really cool. It takes a little bit of faith, but it really works. Asking according to God's will guarantees an answer. :) Now, God's timing might be different from ours, and the amount of effort that we, personally, have to put in might be perceived a little differently by God... but he will answer us. The thing is to ask for things that we know that he wants to give us. Faith... Love... Forgiveness... Mercy... Truth. Probably not new cars we don’t need, or gold-plated Monopoly sets. But friends... yes. Opportunities to share the gospel... opportunities to repent, to heal wounds and rifts, to bless other people's lives. :) Now, these things might seem impossible to us, the wounds too deep, the rifts too wide, the friends too remote. Everyone around us might belong to some anti-Mormon hate group, and so we might wonder how all these things will come to pass... but they will. When we ask for things that God wants to give us, he'll find a way to bless our lives with those things. In his time, and in his way... but it will definitely happen. Let's gather our faith today, and ask God for something that we know he wants us to have... and then work for the results. :)
I agree but why do people think God doesn't want believers to have abundance, wealth, "nice things" IN ADDITION to joy, peace, love, friendships?? In the New Testament and Old Testament the Lord blessed people with necesseties as well as riches (houses & wealth were included). His Word says he'll give us power to get wealth. He helped the widow & her son live by continuously supplying her with more to the point that she was in need of more pots! He helped Peter & Andrew catch multitudes of fish when they were fishing (all of those fish equaled MONEY for Peter & Andrew, they now had supply for the demand). God's will is that we prosper AND be in good health EVEN as our souls prosper. We should be prosperous spiritually but also financially & physically.Jesus propels us to greater, better, more. Jesus was bruised & beaten for our iniquities and transgressions so that we wouldn't have to be. That is the GREAT EXCHANGE! He took death so we could live life and life MORE ABUNDANTLY. He took on sickness so we could have health. Likewise he became poor so that we could be rich & also have sufficiency. It's a lot easier to bless people when you have more to bless them with (spiritually and financially)! I don't understand why people limit God in this way. He said he'd give me the desires of my heart as I delight in Him & he has.If I desire a new car then I believe he will give it to me just as he would give me joy, patience, a spouse, reconciliation, ministry opportunities, etc. As long as you don't worship/idolize "it" I beleive it's God's will for you to have as much of "it" (whatever "it" is for you) as you desire. Money is not evil in & of itself but the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. You have to check your heart but Mark 11:24 tells me I can pray and ask believing I have what I've asked for and I SHALL have it. If it isn't God's will for us to have money then why does the Bible say the wealth of the wicked will be transferred/layed up for the righteous? Prov. 13:22. The Word of God is the will of God. We don't have to guess or assume what His will is.
ReplyDeleteGood points. I think that God does want people to have abundance. I don't think that God wants everyone to be poor, and in my comment I said a new car you don't need... but if you need one, I think that God will provide. However, I don't think that everyone gets riches. We also have to learn to share, and to be generous with each other, and we all have to learn different lessons. Maybe we all go through periods of abundance and want as well... so that we can learn. I agree with you that, as long as it isn't an idol to us, wealth doesn't have to be bad... but it also isn't always good, or God's will. We have to learn to sacrifice and with not getting everything we want in life too. Usually, if it goes along with what he wants, no problem... but there are always individual lessons to learn, including patience and faith. And those take time. And there are lots of blessings that are just as abundant in other ways, and more eternal in nature.
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