WHY WE DON'T RECEIVE
Today, we are going to be study a topic: why we do not receive from God. There are so many reasons why we do not receive from God, we will be looking at some of these reasons and how we can overcome them.
TEXT: MARK 11:22-24
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
One of the reasons we do not receive is because we do not believe. And because we do not believe we do not align ourselves to receive. We do not position our hearts and mind towards our requests in order to attract it. We may say but "I do believe". A careful reading of verse 24 explains it all "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that ou have received it and it will be yours ". Imagine asking God to change an undesirable situation. in our life whatever it may be, just after we make the request the first thing we think is the same problem we just requested a solution for or we start thinking about how God will do it. And every time we talk we refer to the problem and how it is greatly affecting us. All these are attitudes of unbelief; they do not align us to receive. Even when God is bringing a solution our way, we are already so occupied with our negativity that we don't see it.
The way to receive is to align ourselves with our request by immediately being grateful for an answered prayer, being grateful for all of God's blessings in our lives and start having positive thoughts and attitudes about our request. For example, if we desire children, start thanking God for them, think and have the feeling of children around you, always engage in positive conversations and activities towards having children. Ultimately leave the "How" to God the maker of the universe to take care of it, that is why he is God. He makes the impossible possible.
MARK 11:25
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
The second reason we don't receive is due to our unforgiving hearts amongst other things. Other things such as hatred, bitterness, unloving, drunkenness, selfishness, laziness, unthankful, fornication, adultery, etc, have prevented us from receiving. For the purpose of this topic, let's call these things, "BLOCKS".
In many ways, we have been found guilty of these sins and in some cases it has become our second nature especially in our homes. The home is the perfect place where we can start removing these blocks. Husbands clear your blocks by lovingly rule over your household without selfishness or in aggression. Likewise, wives and children clear blocks of disobedience, lust and unforgiving. Clearing these gives room for the things you desire to come in. Also, a desired blessing can come through wife or a husband. Therefore, it's important we keep an open mind to our answered prayers and do not doubt its channel.
Some of us are continuously on the guard to avoid having blocks and the Lord is helping us tremendously! For those still struggling, read the book of Galatians 5:22-23 daily, meditate and pray to God to help you be more of him and less of self.
JAMES 4:3-10
Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Our text reveals another reason why we don't receive our motives. God sees every heart and judges us by our motives. He knows the real reason behind all of our requests.
You ask but do not receive because you ask with wrong motives: what then are your motives? Do they reflect care and compassion? Are they genuine determination to positively affect the lives of those around you? Do they pass the screening test of love as read in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7? Are they self-righteous? Or do they show pride?
Brethren, our earthly lives can be more blissful if only we hold on dearly to the word of God. It is possible to do what is right If we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. Let's ask God to change us from within, it will change our motives as well.
PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS
HEBREWS 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
I will explain some practical things we can do to align ourselves to receive, remove the things (blocks) that prevent us from receiving and build genuine motives.
The first step is to make a list of the things we are grateful for, the things God has blessed us with (family, job, our business, happiness, etc) and genuinely (with a heart flowing with thanks) thank God daily for them. It is important that we feel an overwhelming joy as we do this. Ephesians 5:20.
The second step is to remove all negativity from our hearts: hatred, anger, doubts, worries, etc (blocks). We will need the help of our Lord Jesus at this stage because we are cleaning/renewing the mind. We must do this on a regular basis till we truly master the art of rejecting these blocks. We can do this effectively With supporting scriptures Colossians 3:8-10.
The third step is for us to ask, believe and give thanks for answered prayer. This is the moment to allow God to lead us. Answers could range from God putting an idea in our hearts to turning things around for our good. This step does not encourage us to be lazy, it teaches us to listen to Jesus in our heart directing our daily lives and for us to make effort towards achieving results Mark 11:24.
The points above are suggestions, they can be modified to suit our reality. The most important thing is that we understand the reasons we don't receive and be able to overcome them. This will help us step higher in our faith and be more focused on the cross.
May the Lord help us as we strive to live in Him, May the Lord continually help us remove all blocks so we can receive from him in Jesus name. Amen.
Hello Drumstix, we are glad you made it to SteemChurch.
When we ask things of God, he gives freely when we are faithful. For our prayers not to be hindered we have to draw closer to God. Thanks for sharing on SteemChurch.
Upvoted & Resteemed
J8.
Beautifully written drumstix .. Negativity always brings negative results ..
Thanks for sharing this post bro.
Such a detailed guide into asking right from God in order to receive that which we require.
Most Christians have this problem and seem to think that God is sleeping while in essence they haven't been asking right. Thanks for this bro
Excellent message I must say, one and major reason why we don't receive is because we find it too hard to give which shouldn't be so. Even the Bible commanded that we should give
"give and it shall be given to you.....
Thanks for sharing. God definitely wants to assist us to make our lives better, but he needs us to exercise faith in him and in the ransom sacrifice of his son. It's one thing to ask and another thing to ask with faith.
It is one thing to want something and another to believe it will come,when we look at things and feel it might not be possible to achieve or get,in other words we belittle and limit God.
You have indeed given us key issues we need to know even before we pray. I so happy you quoted one of my favourites Scripture
Thank you very much @drumstix
Jesus told his discipline when they were trying without luck to heal those mentally insane man, and he called them men of little faith,
In another instance, Abraham's wife doubted the fact that she could bear a child.
How about Peter, he doubted himself and started sinking,
We do not receive because we do not have faith, that's why we must endeavor to trust in God and have undying faith in the possibilities
In the Bible it is clearly stated that the reason why people don't receive is simply because they want God to bless them because they want to consume it upon their lust. They actually want to live an extravagant and wasteful life so their blessings is been withheld from them then they start operating closed heavens.
source
I want to encourage you to take the same faith you used to receive salvation and apply it to EVERY area of your life. When you do, you will start to walk in a state of blessing like you have never experienced before. Every area of your life will prosper. Body, soul, mind, spirit, relationships, finances, career, you name it,you’ll get the works,Heaven on earth. It’s no game. It’s real for those who believe.