Prayer that Opens Heaven’s Windows of Blessings June 9, 2023
When we think of the Windows of Heaven, we usually think of receiving tangible items. But God desires that we have another mindset that supersedes the things we can see and touch. Joy, peace, faith, strength, courage, wisdom, and discernment should be at the top of our desires that we ask God to give to us.
“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” —James 4:3
If we do not ask according to God’s will then we will not receive the things that we desire from God. Most of us feel that God has ignored our prayers when He does not answer according to our wish list. We pray for the tangible things that we are certain will make us content and happy. Yet God knows that earthly things can never provide us with His spiritual strength to nourish our souls or produce the spiritual growth and development to change our character.
How do we align ourselves with God’s will?
Every believer needs the Holy Spirit to live as an Overcomer. The Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 6 that we face spiritual battles every day. We cannot fight a spiritual war without Divine Intervention. Obedience keeps us on the Path of Righteousness. Staying in God’s presence requires the human effort of daily prayer, studying the Scriptures, living by faith, and asking God to reveal His will for our lives.
Satan’s cunning and deceitful temptations are developed to make us fulfill the desires of our hearts. He knows that without the Holy Spirit, it is beyond our human ability to resist and overcome temptation. We require Divine wisdom to even recognize that we are being deceived. Our archenemy knows that we have an internal battle of surrendering our will to God. And His ultimate goal is to make us fall into sin by telling us to chase our desires!
“The LORD rewards those who are faithful and righteous…” —1 Samuel 26:23
Reflection: What are you asking God for? How will your requests honor and glorify God?
No, Not Now, or Silence are Answers: Again Satan desires that we believe his false concept that God does not answer every prayer.
God’s Position: ” ‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.’ ” Isaiah 55:8
God’s response of no, not now, or silence usually causes us to react with negative thoughts and feelings. Because worldviews impact every Christian, we become impatient, angry, and bitter when we do not receive what we ask for. So, we take matters into our hands, never thinking that moving forward without God’s blessings always produces negative outcomes.
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” —Matthew 6:24
We must decide whether we will serve God or please ourselves. Simply moving forward with the assumption that God is in agreement constitutes presumptive behavior, which is a sin. Please know that such actions have long-term, mind-altering effects. Disobedience not only results in losing our right standing with God but our faith and trust in God also diminish. Over time, we may stop praying and rely more on our abilities to make things happen.
Our increase in self-reliance always leads to a decreased dependence on God. We lose the desire to wait on the Lord [read Psalm 27:14]. We become annoyed by the command to patiently wait on God. We want what we want becomes our goal and is engraved into our minds and character. Remember that every sinful decision has consequences that we never anticipated! Wilful sinning always changes our spiritual status and we become an enemy of God.
Testimony: No one told me that when I accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior that we cannot pray, ask for the things we want, and then take steps to answer our prayers. From my actions of fulfilling my desires, I began to feel differently—the results of moving forward impacted my relationship with Christ. Since I could pursue and fulfill my desires, my prayers changed. The self-reliance gave me confidence and I stopped asking for God to provide. But the unexpected happened. Deep inside, I felt distant from God. My worship became routine and ritualistic. So, I prayed one day and asked God what was I doing wrong?
“A man’s heart plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.” —Proverbs 16:9
Later that day, a sermon on Obedience to God showed up on my YouTube feed. I learned that God’s priority is for us to receive the reward of eternal life. Not only is obedience not optional, but God always requires us to put Him first by praying and waiting for His answers. Our prayers are not answered according to our desires if they result in financial gain, redirect our focus away from God, or will result in future negative consequences.
Through a sermon, my perspective on God has changed. As a child of God, it is my responsibility to surrender, honor, and show reverence toward His Sovereignty. It is imperative to have unshakable faith and trust in God. Obedience to God is our highest form of worship. Obedience to God is required to serve and please Him.
Even in His silence, the Bible enables us to understand God’s Righteous Character. When we feel that our prayers are unanswered, we should redirect our thoughts to God’s promises. Do we really believe that our Heavenly Father desires the best for us? Every decision He makes is ultimately for our benefit and His glory. The pursuit of our heart’s desires reveals that we love ourselves and God is not first in our lives.
If we desire for God to open the Windows of Heaven as He promised then we must put God first and love Him with all of our hearts, souls, and minds. Every Christian has spiritual assignments to fulfill. Are we witnessing to others? Are we using our talents and spiritual gifts to glorify God? Are we praying because we love God or because we want Him to bless us with earthly things?
Read 1 Samuel chapters 1 and 2. Hannah was blessed because she was willing to give a sacrificial offering to God—she dedicated her son, Samuel to God’s service. God expects us to dedicate ourselves by putting Him first!
Three take-a-way Scriptures emphasize God’s desire to open the Windows of Heaven and Bless us.
- “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” —Matthew 6:33
- “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” —James 1:17
- “…At the right time, I, the LORD, will make it happen.” —Isaiah 60:22, last part
Prayer: God, we repent for our wilful disobedience against You by pursuing the things we desire even if it is not Your will. God, You know the plans that You have for us and we will patiently wait for our blessings and the fruition of Your promises. Thank You for loving us. And thank You for Your abundant grace and mercies. In Jesus’ Righteous Name, we pray. Amen.
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