Faith is in Him, not in my requests…

Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz: “Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven.” But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test.” And he said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:10–14)

This passage goes on and is for a specific situation, but God's Spirit stopped me here to remind me that when I pray, my motivation is that God can do anything. His power is not me putting Him to the test, as if to say, “If You can…” nor even if He will. I can ask because of a sense of need, but faith trusts Him to do what is best, not a test to see if He cares or if He can. Both are assumed, yet not in relation to my request. I pray because I trust Him to listen and do what is best for me and for the situation.

One person on my prayer list cries out for healing. Do I know that her pain is going to draw her closer to Jesus? If it is, and God did what I asked, could it be interfering with His plan? Perhaps a “no” or a “wait” answer is to build my patience, never mind hers. Do I really know the will of God or how to pray?

Ahaz may have often prayed to test God. If he refused to do that but also refused to pray at all, then God was teaching this man a thing or two about his own sinfulness and wanting him to see that his motivations were off kilter.

Last week I did something that looked good on the surface. However, I used it to ask this: “Did I ask this because I cared about the other person? Or did I do it for my own benefit?” I knew right away that I can easily do right things with wrong motives, and when God looks at what I do, He considers both deeds and motives:

“I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” (Jeremiah 17:10)
“. . . . And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.” (Revelation 2:23)

This is why the NT speaks of the Bema judgment of Christians and says some of what we do is merely useless, even if if wasn’t considered sinful.

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:11–15)

I’m aware that my motivation is important, for it does not fit with what Jesus said about prayer: “May Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” That is, praying what I want and do should match what He wants or it will not pass the ‘wood, hay, straw’ test of fire. This sort of sin will not rob me of the free gift of eternal life in Christ, but I will suffer loss.

Lord Jesus, one way I know when I’m in error is that the fruit of the Spirit vanishes when I’m doing or even selfishly. Without that fruit of love, joy, peace, and other spiritual attitudes that come only from You. If I’m upset, worried, unhappy, or mean — even in my thoughts, I’m filled with me and not walking in the Spirit. Thank you for clearly warning me when flesh moves in and I need to confess and ask You to again fill me and change my heart. Your words to Ahaz tell me that the sign always given is that You came. You are “God with me” — my Immanuel — and You are all that I need.

Lord, remodel my mind . . .

 

There are times when I must do something but my body resists. That old saying, “Put your mind to it” is the only way to get going some mornings, or to get up from dinner and do dishes. My mind is also easily distracted and can think of a million things I’d rather do than the task at hand. Rather than let those “I wants” determine my day, the Lord is teaching me about being determined of MIND by taking me through the Bible to see what He says about His mind and mine..

The OT uses this word to describe several things. The most pertinent for me is a noun that is best translated “plans” or “thoughts” and can describe the plans of either individuals or God. What makes God’s mind different from mine?

For one thing, Numbers 23:19 says, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?” I’m not in a habit of lying, but can often change my mind. Also, sometimes I fail to do whatever I say I will do.

I’m not the only one. In the OT, the leaders of God’s people had trouble being true to their calling. God promised He would “raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind” making obvious that we are not capable of doing what is on His mind without His help.

The best example is Solomon. He prayed, “Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” and God responded, “Behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you. He gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore” so that “The whole earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind.”

Even though this man’s mind was blessed by God, Solomon was open to it, humble enough to realize that he could not be a good king without God’s help. God says to me to have the same determination:

1 Chronicles 22:19. “Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God . . . .”

Job 38:36. “Who has put wisdom in the inward parts or given understanding to the mind?“

Proverbs 28:26. “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”

Jeremiah 17:10 adds another thought, “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” God rewards those who learn to think like He thinks, but this can be a challenge. Jesus, God in human flesh, was misunderstood because His way of life was so different than anyone else. If I think (and therefore behave) like Jesus, I may not be popular!

Mark 3:20–21. "Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, 'He is out of his mind.' ”

Even His disciple struggled with it, Peter in particular. When Jesus spoke of what was going to happen to Him, Peter said, “No . . . .” and Jesus rebuked him with, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”

God also says in Romans 8:6-7: “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.”

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. Setting  my mind on the things of God is impossible if I follow the whims of my self-centeredness. Instead, He says I have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) and must nurture it and obey what I do know before He will show me any more about how He thinks. Also, Romans 12:2 tells me, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Obviously, mind renewal requires keeping my thoughts on God and refusing to try and tell Him what to do, as if my plans could understand His mind without His blessing to reveal it.