John 5:14-15
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”
There is a popular theology today that is growing throughout the US and world called “prosperity theology” or “Name it Claim it” theology. It is a dangerous theology that is based on a half truth, the danger in “half truths” is that you can find scripture to justify it, yet it is leaving out a critical qualifier within the scripture. This theology ends up using God as a means to an end instead of God being the end itself. Let me explain. In prosperity theology, faith and obedience are a means to gaining a blessing. That doesn’t necessarily sound to far off, but this “blessing” ends up being whatever you desire, wealth, health, new job, etc. You end up using God as a means toward your own ends. It is kind of a “Jeanie in a bottle” type theology, in which you come to God, not to gain communion with God, but so that God will give you what you desire. God ends up being a stepping stone or a means to gain your blessing. Instead of what scripture reveals, which is that God will often bless as a means to drawing us to Him. Whatever is your Highest desire (your end) is your God. Even if you throw Jesus in the mix but use Him as a means to a greater end, Jesus is not your God, He is merely a way to gain your true god. If I’m stepping on any toes, I don’t apologize because some times our toes need a good stomping. The early reformer Martin Luther taught that if when preaching the Gospel you do not come up against the idols of the day, you are not preaching the full Gospel. One of the biggest idols we have in modern American culture is the idea of the American dream. More stuff, a better career, bigger house, newer car, health, wealth, and prosperity. And the grave error is that this new “gospel” uses God as a means to gain our American idol (not the popular tv show, but the actual idol of wealth), instead of the true Gospel that tears down such idols so that God will be put in His rightful place.
The other danger in this new theology is that it can often push others to react against it, causing us to miss the fullness of what God is teaching. I will admit I am one of those people. In reaction to the “name it claim it” theology, I’ve found myself afraid to pray with expectation, expecting God to answer. I’ve at times been afraid to pray for specific needs and the favor of God. This too is un biblical.
If you look at 1John 5:14-15 you can see that John tells us to pray with expectation, that God will answer our prayers, yet in that he places a very critical qualifier. This is where the error of “half truths” can come in. Some may read only vs. 15 and say “look, the bible says that if we believe that God hears us, he will grant what we ask for.” The problem is that in vs. 14 John places the qualifier “if we ask anything according to His will.” The reality is that prayer is not about petitioning God to fulfill our wills, but aligning our wills with His so that we will petition God to accomplish His will. On one hand this does not mean that we can decide “hey I want a new car, so if I pray hard enough God will grant me my request.” But on the other hand this does mean that when we are praying according to God’s will and purpose, we should expect that God will answer. It comes down to trust, if God has promised that He will give us the requests that are asked according to His will, we should have faith that God will do as He promised. This is very biblical, yet as I had said, I often shied away from praying with such expectation in reaction to the errors of some.
So then if we are to pray according to the will of God, one of the best ways to align our prayers is to pray according to scripture. If we are praying scripture we can have certainty that we are praying in line with God’s will. This is why for the upcoming 40 day prayer focus we are using 2 key passages as guides. First we will be spending the 40 days using the outline of the Lord’s prayer. Now I have no qualms against praying the Lord’s prayer, but we must not forget that when Jesus taught the disciples this prayer He was not telling them “what” to pray but “how” to pray. So for the upcoming 40 days we will be using the Lord’s prayer as our guide for how we should pray.
The second key passage is found in Matthew 9:36-38. In this passage Jesus had just finished scanning the city, noticing the lostness of the people, claiming that they are like sheep without a shepherd. He then turns to His disciples and tells them that “the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Then He calls upon the disciples to pray to the Lord to provided laborers to go into the harvest. I may be wrong, but if Jesus tells us to pray something, we can be pretty certain that when we pray it, we are praying according to God’s will! Up here in Pittsburgh the harvest truly is plentiful but the laborers are so few. Our greatest need in starting East End Ecclesia is for leaders or co-laborers to join us in this mission. So we will be asking everyone to join us in praying Matthew 9:36-38 throughout the 40 day period.
The 40 day prayer focus will be beginning on Monday, March 2. I will be posting the devo and prayer request every day here on this blog. If you would like a copy of the 40 day prayer guide so that you can print it off or share it with your church, small group, or friends, e-mail me at info@eastendecclesia.org so that I can send you a copy.
Much love, and expect that God will do great things to accomplish His will,
Eric
