God the genie

Early in my Christian life I looked at God as my personal genie. It was pretty straight forward. I would tell him the desires of my heart in prayer and he would give me what I asked. This arrangement required nothing on my part. I just had to wait until God answered my prayers, no matter how wicked or sinful they were. I would ask him to help me not get caught sneaking out at night or help with my status in the world, I wanted to be big shot. This was me after all. I would ask for incredibly selfish things and get mad if I did not get them. God was my genie and he had to give me what I wanted. What kind of God would want to see me unhappy. I would pray about every little tick tacky thing and expect God to deal with it for me.

Unfortunately many other people seem to have this exact same belief about God. That he is here to serve them and make sure their every whim is answered. This is not the case at all. It is in fact very much the opposite. God would like us to serve him! Isn't that quite the concept. How are they going to fill the church pews selling that. I mean what's in it for me? Well, first of all, if you believe on Christ for your salvation, you get an eternity in heaven and continual blessings from God. Secondly, you can have the blessing of God in this life. They may not be everything you want, but they will bring you joy and peace. They will also bring honor to God.

People might ask what is the point of prayer, if God is not a genie then why bother praying? God wants us to pray for a few reasons. God wants a relationship with us. He wants us to talk to him everyday. Ever have a friend who stops talking to you? How long does that friendship last? When we stop praying and reading the Bible we fall out of fellowship with God. This never ends well for the believer. God also, wants to bless us. When we pray, we bring our petitions before God and let him know the desires of our heart. As long as we are living Godly lives and praying for Godly things he will (most of the time*) give us what we want. It just takes time, more often than not. We have to be patient and wait on the Lord. We also, have to be willing to make changes in our lifestyles and put in hard work. God loves a good worker. Sometimes God doesn't give us what we want. That is because he doesn't feel we need it, or we are not yet ready for it. God knows exactly where we are in our lives and he knows what we can handle and what we can't. Always stay diligent in prayer and don't give up. It may take years of prayer and service to finally get that prayer answered.

Serving God and honoring him should be your top priority regardless. God desires for us all to be as much like his son Jesus as possible. If you can make a point to be as much like Jesus as possible, God will give you peace and joy, like you could never imagine. Even if some of your prayers don't get answered, you will still be content where you are in your life.

Philippians 4:6&7

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Always give thanks and praise to God when you Pray. God does not owe us anything. In fact we owe him, much. He can destroy us in an instant, believe me I know. My abuse of his grace costed me everything I had. I am smarter now and have changed my ways. My prayers these days are more about honoring God and not my fleshly desires. So, next time you are praying for a Ferrari, or Yacht, or a private jet, pray instead for God to reveal his will for your life. Ask him what you can do for him. I think you will find yourself much better off in the long run. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I will leave you with the only way to heaven, our salvation, the gospel.

I Corinthians 15

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: