PRAYER and OBEDIENCE

PRAYER and OBEDIENCE
by David Wilkerson

We sometimes go to God in prayer as if He were a rich relative who will support us and give us all we beg for, while we lift not even a hand to help. We lift our hands to God in prayer, and then put them in our pockets.

We expect our prayers to get God to working for us while we sit idly by, thinking to ourselves, "He has all the power; I have none, so I will simply stand still and let Him do the work."

It sounds like good theology, but it is not. God will have no idle beggars at His door. He will not even allow us to be charitable to those on earth who refuse to work.

"We commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat" (2 Thessalonians 3:10).

There is nothing unscriptural about adding sweat to our tears. Take, for example, the matter of praying for victory over a secret lust that lingers in the heart. Do you simply ask God to take it away miraculously, then sit by, hoping it will die on its own? No sin has ever been slain in the heart without the cooperation of man's own hand, as in the case of Joshua. All night long, he lay prostrated and mourning over Israel's defeat. God set him on his feet saying, "Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them... Up, sanctify the people" (Josh 7:10-13).

God has every right to rouse us from our knees and say, "Why sit around lazily, waiting for a miracle? Have I not commanded you to flee from the very appearance of evil? You are to do more than simply pray against your lust-you are commanded also to run from it. You cannot rest until you have done all that is commanded."

Do not blame God for not listening to your prayers if you are not listening to His call to obedience. You will end up blaspheming God and accusing Him of negligence, while all along you will be the culprit.

-Source-

http://sermons.worldchallenge.org/en/node/23867