The Secret

 It’s only a secret to those who think they can coerce or somehow twist God’s arm into giving them what they want, but for anyone else who’s read the Bible once or twice, it’s no secret at all. The way we get the things we ask for from God is to ask for the things that are pleasing to God. The way we receive is to ask according to His will and plan for our life, and we will receive all that we ask for abundantly. How we come about doing that is drawing nearer to Him. The nearer you draw to God, and the nearer He draws to you, the things you desire will no longer originate from your flesh but from your spiritual man. Your spiritual man, in turn, will desire those things that will aid him in growing and simultaneously mortifying the flesh all the more, and because you desire the things of God and not of this world, His hand will always be open to you.

The idea that we can guilt trip, blackmail, or coerce God into doing our bidding is foolhardy and childish. My daughters used to do that, but they grew out of it. It seems some Christians haven’t. We can’t go before God with the equivalent of “I cleaned my room, now can I watch some TV?” That’s not the way it works, and that’s not the kind of relationship God wants with His children.

My daughters know full well that there is no television watching on weekdays, and on Saturday mornings, they get thirty minutes of something wholesome like Bugs Bunny or Tom and Jerry. We limit the amount of screen time because we love our children, not because we’re trying to be needlessly harsh, mean, or intent on keeping them from achieving true happiness. They are children. Their understanding is limited, and even though they pout and huff when they are told no, it must be so because the momentary satisfaction of sitting in front of a screen will have long-term repercussions throughout their life.

Back before they realized we were serious about it, the little one would put her hands on her hips, huff through her nose, and say, “That’s not fair! You always say no. Why do you do that?” to which I would answer, “Because you always ask the same question!”

If they’d asked a different question or had a different request, perhaps they would have gotten a different answer. If they’d wanted to read books, draw, go outside, and play instead of watching television, I would have told them they could do those things to their heart’s content.

If you keep asking God the same question, you’ll receive the same answer. Don’t grow bitter and angry because God is being consistent; ask a different question, and perhaps you will receive a different answer from Him.

Always remember that you are His, and He loves you. James is trying to get this point across and does an excellent job. It’s not because God can’t give what we’re asking for; it’s because we ask amiss. We ask for the wrong things, the things that will do nothing to grow us spiritually, and for our own good, God says no.

It took a while for my daughters to understand the truth of it, and it’s taking the modern-day church longer than it took my daughters. God is not a genie in a bottle. You don’t get your wishes granted by doing the equivalent of rubbing the bottle with prayers.

Sometimes, God has to say no for your own good. He has to deny your request because He knows where granting it will lead. Because we’ve redefined what God’s desire for His children is, we feel as though we are constantly at odds with Him and that He is not keeping up His end of the bargain.

If you believe that God’s desire for you is to be happy, rich, and comfortable in this world, you believe a lie. That’s not to say God wants you to be poor, ill at ease, and miserable, but the way your flesh feels during the little time you are here is irrelevant to Him. God’s purpose for you and me was laid out in the most often quoted Bible passage ever, and it’s simple enough for anyone to understand.

John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

If whatever you’re asking for would in any way hinder you from not perishing but having everlasting life, then God saying no to it is a blessing and a grace. The purpose of Jesus being given isn’t so we could brag about cars and watches and diamond rings; the purpose of Jesus being given is so we might have everlasting life.

Mark 8:36-38, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

These are two questions the prosperity pimps never seem to consider. They are two questions they avoid at all costs because the answers would be detrimental to the fallacious doctrine they’ve built up over the years.

The finish line isn’t fame or fortune. The finish line isn’t getting that new car or that new house. The finish line, the goal, the purpose of it all is everlasting life. The entire point of the exercise is not to perish but to be with Him in heaven throughout eternity. Anyone whose message and focus is something other than eternity falls short of the great commission to preach the gospel and make disciples of those who heed the call to repentance.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.