This article is called, “God reacts and responds according to your actions.” Think about that for a minute. Let this sink into your heart and mind. Any Christian understands reaping and sowing. That is a fixed principal in every Christians life. And please understand this verse of scripture. Malachi KJV 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore, ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
God does not change his mind, but he will change the course of direction in how he responds and deals with individuals. Reaping and sowing is one way. Another response is sin, thoughts, words and deeds. Disobedience. Blessings and cursing’s. Your choices, and free will. There are other directions in which God chooses to operate. God is not limited to one direction in which He works.
Here is a bit of home spun humor as an example of what I am talking about. “A pastor asked an older farmer, decked out in bib overalls, to say grace for the morning breakfast.”Lord, I hate buttermilk”, the farmer began. The visiting pastor opened one eye to glance at the farmer and wonder where this was going. The farmer loudly proclaimed, “Lord, I hate lard.” Now the pastor was growing concerned. Without missing a beat, the farmer continued, “And Lord, you know I don’t much care for raw white flour”. The pastor once again opened an eye to glance around the room and saw that he wasn’t the only one to feel uncomfortable.
Then the farmer added, “But Lord, when you mix them all together and bake them, I do love warm fresh biscuits. So, Lord, when things come up that we don’t like, when life gets hard, when we don’t understand what you’re saying to us, help us to just relax and wait until you are done mixing. It will probably be even better than biscuits. Amen.”
Within that prayer there is great wisdom for all when it comes to complicated situations like we are experiencing in the world today. Stay strong, my friends, because our LORD is mixing several things that we don’t really care for, but something even better is going to come when HE is done with it. AMEN! There is a lot of truth in that. God does not always work the way we think He will. God is not limited in how He deals with people or what direction He chooses to take.
HOW DOES GOD HEAR OUR PRAYERS?
He Hears Us Because We Pray According to His Will. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hears us” (1 John 5:14). What is the will of God? Simply put, it is that which aligns perfectly with His Word, and with His character. God speaks through His Word. God speaks through His Holy Spirit, are we listening? God speaks through our prayers. God can speak through music. God speaks through the preaching of His Word. And God speaks through true worship. You may like this: DOES GOD ANSWER PRAYERS?
I agree with questions .com when they state: “God hears everything, including prayers. He is God. Nothing gets by Him (Psalm 139:1–4). He is sovereign over everything He created (Isaiah 46:9–11). So, the question is not whether God is aware of every prayer (He is), but whether God is tuning in to our prayers with an intent to answer them. God wants us to pray. He has created prayer as a means by which we can enjoy Him (Revelation 3:20), confess our sin (1 John 1:9), ask Him to meet our needs (Psalm 50:15), and align our wills with His (Jeremiah 29:11–12; Luke 22:42). One kind of prayer is guaranteed to be granted. Luke 18:13–14 describes the prayer of repentance. When we call upon the Lord in humble repentance, He is eager to justify and forgive us.
However, when considering prayer, it is important to remember that most promises of God in Scripture were written to His people. In the Old Testament, those promises were for Israel and all who united with them. In the New Testament, those promises were written to the followers of Jesus. It is a misuse of Scripture to pull out isolated verses and try to apply them to any situation we want, including prayer. Even though the Lord knows and hears all, He has given some circumstances in which He will not listen to our prayers:
1. When we are choosing to hold on to sin, rather than repent and change, God will not hear our prayers. In Isaiah 1:15, the Lord says, “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!” Proverbs 28:9 says, “If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.” Example: A young couple are living together in sexual sin, yet they pray for God’s blessing on their home.
2. When we ask according to our own selfish desires, God will not hear our prayers. James 4:3 says, “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” Example: A man is dissatisfied with his three-year-old Toyota, so he prays for a brand-new Mercedes.
3. When what we ask is not in accordance with His will for us. First John 5:14 says, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.” Example: We pray fervently for a new job, but God’s plan requires that we stay where we are and be a witness to our coworkers.
4. When we do not ask in faith. In Mark 11:24 Jesus said, “I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” However, faith is not believing for something; it is believing in Someone. Our faith is in the character of God and His desire to bless and comfort us. When we pray, we should have faith that He hears us and will grant every request that is in line with His will for us (1 John 5:14–15). Example: We ask God to supply a financial need but continue to worry and make faithless comments to our families and coworkers, such as “I’m probably going to go to the poorhouse. I’ll never get that money.”
God is holy and desires us to be holy as He is (Leviticus 22:32; 1 Peter 1:16). When He knows that we are seeking that holiness as well, He is delighted to answer our prayers in ways that continue our spiritual growth. Jesus said, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7). The secret to prayer is abiding in Christ so that whatever we ask is in accordance with His heart (Psalm 37:4). Only then can we have the confidence that God does hear our prayers with an intent to answer them.” GOD DOES REACT AND RESPONDS ACCORDING TO OUR ACTIONS.
CONCLUSION
I am no expert and I do not claim to be. I do not know of any magic formula to effective prayer, I wish I knew one. I do believe that what I have written in this article is scriptural and should be able to help anyone. I know I learn from it and will study it more and more. I hope it will also benefit all of us. I can only say I talk to my heavenly father all the time; I realize how I fail and how easy it is for my mind to wonder. I know the Holy Spirit of God lives in me and I have to ask myself often, how much I hurt him? He needs more of me; I do not need more of Him.
Satan or his little demons will always distract you and place everything in your mind. I am very glad that the Holy Spirit speaks to us and pulls us back into reality. (at least for me). I often think many times how depressing it must be for the Holy Spirit living in us, and how much more we should appreciate Him. The one thing I really do want to share in this article is this: “I ALWAYS PRAY FOR ME FIRST.” WHY? It is not because I am selfish, but I feel it is necessary. I need to be clean before God first, so that I can pray for others. I do not want sin in my life to hinder my prayers for others.
Now this one may sound ridiculous, but I want to share it. I take showers not baths. Each time I get in the shower I soap up and pray. “Father, I can swallow this bar of soap but that will not make me clean inside, only you can make me clean inside. So, while I clean the outside, please clean me inside.” You might like it and find out it does help. Psalm 66:18-20 “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear me: But verily God hath heard me; He hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, Nor his mercy from me.”
Finally, and most important is this, YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR A FACT THAT JESUS CHRIST IS YOUR OWN PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOR. God is real and so is Satan. Heaven is real and so is hell. Sin has always separated us from God because of who God is. He cannot and will never accept sin but He will forgive it, because Jesus paid for sin for us. Jesus came to earth and died a cruel death on the cross to pay for our sins and satisfy God’s judgement. II Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection were for us, and gives us eternal Salvation.
It is free to us, but it cost Jesus His very life to pay for our sins. Will you bow your heart and turn from yourself and turn to God? Will you ask for forgiveness and receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? I assure you on the word of God that He will save you and give you a new life in Christ. Romans 10:13 says, “For who so ever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Bow your heart and ask God. This is one prayer God will ALWAYS answer.
If you have prayed and been forgiven, then please let me know in the comment section below so I can rejoice with you. And your thoughts, opinions and comments are welcome so leave them below in the Reply section on the bottom left. Please enjoy this beautiful song, called the Lord’s Prayer. RAY
minute. Let this sink into your heart and mind. Any Christian understands reaping and sowing. That is a fixed principal in every Christians life. And please understand this verse of scripture. Malachi KJV 3:6 “For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore, ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
prayers. In Isaiah 1:15, the Lord says, “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!” Proverbs 28:9 says, “If anyone turns a deaf ear to my instruction, even their prayers are detestable.”
from yourself and turn to God? Will you ask for forgiveness and receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior? I assure you on the word of God that He will save you and give you a new life in Christ. Romans 10:13 says, “For who so ever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Bow your heart and ask God. This is one prayer God will ALWAYS answer.