APR 28

James 4:1-3
Memorise Psalm 66:18
“...ye ask amiss...”
The answer is plain. Prayers that ask for the wrong things will not be answered. There was a believer who quarrelled with her neighbour. She confessed that she prayed that God would punish the neighbour. Simply praying for vengeance rather than resolution to the quarrel even in a God honouring manner is asking amiss. There are those who pray covetously for wealth with no thought of how to use it for God’s glory. Likewise, praying simply for things to satisfy our worldly desires is praying amiss. Such prayers will not be answered.

God only answers prayers that glorify Him and are in accordance to His will. We must surrender our will to Jesus completely if we are to follow Him. He is our example, and even He had prayed before going to the cross on Calvary, “Not my will, but thine be done”. The people of the world are full of selfish lusts, easily consumed by their selfish impulses. We should not be like them. We have a loving and holy heavenly Father who loves us and wants the best for us. His best for us is what we seek, not what we think is best for us.

Furthermore, the Bible warns us that if we regard iniquity in our hearts, our prayers will not be heard (Ps 66:18). We must first fix our relationship with the Lord by repenting of our sins, before we can expect Him to heed to our requests.

What have you been praying for? It would be wonderful if you have been praying for the salvation of your loved ones. God is honoured and glorified when sinners come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. A look at the church’s prayer list or the Youth Fellowship prayer list will reveal that we pray for good health that we might serve God. We pray for good examination results to glorify God and be good testimonies for Him. We pray for protection. We pray also for blessings upon all our activities for we know that without God we can do nothing. We honour and glorify God when we depend completely on Him.

Thought: Prayers in the language of lusts than of graces will return empty.
Prayer: Our gracious heavenly Father, teach us to pray aright, to ask for the things that will honour Thee.