Rules of Receiving

In my quiet time before the Lord today I began to ask Him about why it is some of Christians have not seen many manifestations of answers to prayer. As many people know, I am (physically) up to my eyeballs in debt - yay for higher education... I have prayer over that for years. I have herd all of the sermons regarding sowing and reaping. I know it is God's Will for me not to be in debt (Romans 13:8). I have prayed the prayer of petition, written the prayer of petition, and then went back and typed the prayer of petition so as to keep it in my remembrance. I have made the confessions. I have taken the steps. And I still owe roughly 80k. What's the deal? I know what the Word says regarding the financial life God has promised the Christian. I know that most of what Christian people preach and teach on the subject can be most adequately summed up with a stack of four-letters that Jesus died to redeem me from saying. As I sat there, the Word that I do know regarding the situation began flooding my mind. I grabbed my journal and began to write. And write. And write... My hand hurt. This is what He showed me:

• Kingdom First. Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you" (NKJV). Is God your number one priority? Is it possible that you have become more concerned with the issues of life than with His Kingdom? The chances are very high that you have. I know that feeling very well. Staring down the barrel of overwhelming debt can blind you to all other things in life. Life is difficult for many of us. Careers (even the ones God has specially called us to) can overwhelm our thinking to a level that overtakes the importance of God. If anything in your life is more important in your life than God you are violating the first law of prosperity. He promised every other issue will be taken care of if you put His Kingdom and His way of doing things as the top priority of your life. Every other need will be covered. You will find you have the time, resources and energy to accomplish every endeavor in life. That is a promise.
• Doubtfulness is a Clog. James 1:6-7 "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord" (ESV). Any trace of doubt will block manifestations. Too many Christians pray and "see what happens" more than actually praying on purpose. "If it be Your will" is a prayer of fear and doubt. The results will not be what you prayed for. We must pray according to the Word - knowing that the Word Itself promises us that we will receive when we pray accordingly. How many of us actually believe the Bible when it says we receive what we ask for? Without faith you cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6), because you must first believe that He exists. I the same is true regarding answers to prayer. If you do not believe He will answer you, then do not bother asking Him. 
• Forget the Past. Philippians 3:13-14 "...but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (NKJV). Doubt is often rooted in past "failures." We have spent years praying about a situation, and yet we have seen nothing happen. As a result, crazy doctrines concerning the character of God have led us to believe He is against us having wealth and living long, healthy lives. Perhaps we think it is our lot in life to live lower than others? That is also a load that can only be described by the aforementioned four-letters. Each day is a fresh start for us all (Lamentations 3:23), and His grace is sufficient for that day (2Corinthians 9:9). God's Word never changes, and His Word promises us that He will answer the prayers of our hearts when we pray in-line with His Word. So, when you do not see any results, don't get discouraged and think "here we go again..." Trust God more than your own (or someone else's) experience.
• Trust GOD! Proverbs 3:5-6 "Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He will direct and make straight and plain your paths" (AMP). We should never live the "American way" but the Christian way. Our fortunes are not based upon the systems around us. Our futures are to be based on the promises of God, not on the security of our retirement accounts. God never intended for anyone to retire in the first place. The government has no baring on what happens in your life or mine, unless we give it to them. God is our Provider, not the stimulus package (Philippians 4:19). To place trust in human institutions in to take away from your trust in God and His way of doing things. Education is not the benchmark of success (Psalm 119:99). Your job is not the source of your life (Psalm 118:8). Our systems are broken, and if we trust in them to provide all of our needs we will get broken results (and violate the terms of principle number One).
• Patience. James 1:2-3 "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience" (NKJV). do not be like some "masochistic" Christians and think this means we are to get excited about suffering. It is important to grit our teeth at times and endure all that life and the enemy throw at us. It produces patience, which is better termed "constancy." We receive the promises of God through faith and patience. Remain the same. Continue in the things of God, regardless of what the circumstances of your outside life look like. Those circumstances are not the barometer of God's activity in your life. Patience in not simply enduring some idiot in the grocery line with a smile on our face; it is another form of unwavering (again, see James 1:7). The promise of this kind of patience is completeness - wanting nothing (not because of some religious idea that wanting is bad, but because God will provide everything so that you will have no want). Do not bend to the pressure of waiting. Jesus said that the entire Kingdom operates as a seed (Mark 4). Seeds take time to grow.
• Watch Your Mouth. Mark 11:23 "Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them" (NIV). Your words are seeds just as much as God's are. don't make things more difficult on yourself by planting "crabgrass" all over the place through complaining and idle words. James 3 teaches us that our lives are directed by the words that we say. God may be endeavoring to do something in your life, but you keep moving the opposite direction. You can hinder God's movement by speaking against it. If you operate under a "I'll say it when I see it" mentality, you won't see anything. Ever. Faith words move God. It's His system of operating - even if most religious folks do not think so. God does everything through words (Romans 4:17); He made you in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26); He expects you to do the same things He did (Ephesians 5:1). Speak the things you want into your life by using His words.

So after nearly forty-five minutes, and one very unpleasant hand cramp, my list was finished. This is obviously not an exhaustive list, but it is a start. These are not the rules, but simply some rules. Think them over when you pray. Go find the verses listed (I'm not going to do everything for you). Remember it is those who do the Word that see results.

Was that last line too "churchy"?