This is an interesting subject [in my view]. When you’re praying for things that are “righteous”, in other words, lacking in pure self-interest, that’s most likely a prayer that’s void of an expiration date. I mean if I were God, I would honor those prayers first so I can understand his position here. The difference being that when you’re praying for something that contains nothing but a self motive? This is not to say that you won’t receive it as it’s never up to me [a mere mortal], but that prayer just might, at minimum, have an expiration date? In other words, it could end up an unanswered prayer, one not heard at all. I think the difference might be when we’re including only ourselves in some type of gain, for purely “gains sake”, God may not grant that one [as easily]. Maybe he wants for the one praying to exhibit humility and consider who all else [when applicable] may benefit from that particular prayed for [transaction], or even strengthen us to overcome some difficulty ourselves. Just maybe.
I think this is a cool concept. It reminds me that those we pray to are “not of this world”, because if they were everyone would want their email address and access to their voicemails right? No, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and God are not bounded by our [same] constraints – you know the ones such as gravity, oxygen, food & shelter, or even heat from the Sun? They exist on a completely different level. [Which reminds me, why are we wasting time and money going to the Moon? I don’t understand. To me it makes a ton more sense to send unmanned spacecraft “probes” to far reaches of the Universe to retrieve and return camera images of the Universe we know, along with conducting scientific studies, rather than spending money on Earth’s closest planets… but then here I go making sense again. I plan to cover frivolous spending in another topic soon, and I know just how and when this frivolous government spending ends, and just how it will end. :)]
Back to the matter-at-hand, if your past prayers never quite reached that “righteous” property threshold – that’s okay, it happens. Here are some passages and comments relating to the subject of prayer and those things we might pray for that I found enlightening and I hope you will too – Luke 6:37-38 “The key is to give to others the very thing that you want God to give to you. God’s principle of reciprocity is activated when we minister to the needs of others with the result that he raises up people to minister in return to us in that same area of need.” [The Tony Evans Bible Commentary] Acts 12:6-10 “… Prayer is the divinely authorized method for accessing heavenly authority for earthly intervention.” [Peter was freed when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in prison and caused his chains to fall off. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary] Acts 12:20-23 “…When the Lord answers your prayers, be sure to give testimony about it so that others are encouraged and God receives the glory he deserves.” [The Tony Evans Bible Commentary] James 4:14 “Let’s be clear: God is not against making plans. But it’s one thing for a believer to make plans and another to think himself sovereign over them. After all, you do not know what tomorrow will bring. These people didn’t allow for contingencies. They were definitive, had an air of self-sufficiency. But life has too many variables for you to guarantee your tomorrow. God’s kingdom agenda is assured because he’s an omniscient and omnipotent eternal King. Your agenda is uncertain at best…” [The Tony Evans Bible Commentary]
“We often expect our prayers to be answered by the removal of obstacles that stand in our way, but that would not strengthen or restore us. Our prayers are answered by enabling us to overcome the difficulty; they are answered within. We do not expect merely that God will pity us and pardon us and admit us to Heaven, but rather that here on earth God will mend and heal us and enable us to do His work. The sinner must be not only pardoned but restored before he can enjoy the Vision of God.” [Christian Self-Mastery, Basil W. Maturin]
A Righteous Prayer Has No Expiration ~
A Righteous Prayer Has No Expiration ~
This is an interesting subject [in my view]. When you’re praying for things that are “righteous”, in other words, lacking in pure self-interest, that’s most likely a prayer that’s void of an expiration date. I mean if I were God, I would honor those prayers first so I can understand his position here. The difference being that when you’re praying for something that contains nothing but a self motive? This is not to say that you won’t receive it as it’s never up to me [a mere mortal], but that prayer just might, at minimum, have an expiration date? In other words, it could end up an unanswered prayer, one not heard at all. I think the difference might be when we’re including only ourselves in some type of gain, for purely “gains sake”, God may not grant that one [as easily]. Maybe he wants for the one praying to exhibit humility and consider who all else [when applicable] may benefit from that particular prayed for [transaction], or even strengthen us to overcome some difficulty ourselves. Just maybe.
I think this is a cool concept. It reminds me that those we pray to are “not of this world”, because if they were everyone would want their email address and access to their voicemails right? No, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and God are not bounded by our [same] constraints – you know the ones such as gravity, oxygen, food & shelter, or even heat from the Sun? They exist on a completely different level. [Which reminds me, why are we wasting time and money going to the Moon? I don’t understand. To me it makes a ton more sense to send unmanned spacecraft “probes” to far reaches of the Universe to retrieve and return camera images of the Universe we know, along with conducting scientific studies, rather than spending money on Earth’s closest planets… but then here I go making sense again. I plan to cover frivolous spending in another topic soon, and I know just how and when this frivolous government spending ends, and just how it will end. :)]
Back to the matter-at-hand, if your past prayers never quite reached that “righteous” property threshold – that’s okay, it happens. Here are some passages and comments relating to the subject of prayer and those things we might pray for that I found enlightening and I hope you will too –
Luke 6:37-38
“The key is to give to others the very thing that you want God to give to you. God’s principle of reciprocity is activated when we minister to the needs of others with the result that he raises up people to minister in return to us in that same area of need.” [The Tony Evans Bible Commentary]
Acts 12:6-10
“… Prayer is the divinely authorized method for accessing heavenly authority for earthly intervention.” [Peter was freed when an angel of the Lord appeared to him in prison and caused his chains to fall off. The Tony Evans Bible Commentary]
Acts 12:20-23
“…When the Lord answers your prayers, be sure to give testimony about it so that others are encouraged and God receives the glory he deserves.” [The Tony Evans Bible Commentary]
James 4:14
“Let’s be clear: God is not against making plans. But it’s one thing for a believer to make plans and another to think himself sovereign over them. After all, you do not know what tomorrow will bring. These people didn’t allow for contingencies. They were definitive, had an air of self-sufficiency. But life has too many variables for you to guarantee your tomorrow. God’s kingdom agenda is assured because he’s an omniscient and omnipotent eternal King. Your agenda is uncertain at best…” [The Tony Evans Bible Commentary]
“We often expect our prayers to be answered by the removal of obstacles that stand in our way, but that would not strengthen or restore us. Our prayers are answered by enabling us to overcome the difficulty; they are answered within. We do not expect merely that God will pity us and pardon us and admit us to Heaven, but rather that here on earth God will mend and heal us and enable us to do His work. The sinner must be not only pardoned but restored before he can enjoy the Vision of God.” [Christian Self-Mastery, Basil W. Maturin]