• 02 Aug 2023

FOR HIS GLORY

MEMORISE:  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

READ: James 4:1 -10

1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

4 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.

5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.

10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

MESSAGE

Whenever you ask God for anything, make sure that it is something that will bring glory to His name. Don't ask for things that would serve just you, but that will be useful to Him. If you want to win an election, you should tell Him how you would use your position to glorify His name. That is the kind of prayer that gets His attention.

God can decide to ignore you if you choose to bombard Him with requests. However, if you come to Him telling Him how you plan to advance His kingdom here on earth with the miracle you are asking for, He will pay attention to you. Hannah understood this principle, so she prayed thus:

And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.

I Samuel 1:11

God granted her request by giving her a son who grew to become a great prophet and then gave her five more children.

Seek to glorify God first and you will see Him giving you more than you asked for. He knew your needs before you came to Him (Matthew 6:8); so give Him an offer He cannot refuse and you will see Him supplying your needs in abundance.

You may say, "God loves me and l believe He will give me whatever l want". No doubt, He loves you, but He has a purpose for everything He does. You may have thought that God drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea just because He loves the Israelites, 

But Romans 9:17 says:

For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have l raised thee up, that l might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.

The real reason God destroyed Pharaoh was to declare His glory and majesty throughout the earth. God's agenda is always superior to ours, if you align your agenda with His, then you will get what you want.

KEY POINT

Align your agenda with God's purpose and you will never lack again.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Isaiah 64-66

HYMN 7: I AM THINE O LORD

1 I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,

  And it told Thy love to me;

But I long to rise in the arms of faith,

  And be closer drawn to Thee.

Chorus

Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

  To the cross where Thou hast died;

Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,

    To Thy precious, bleeding side.

2 Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,

  By the pow’r of grace divine;

Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,

  And my will be lost in Thine.

3 O the pure delight of a single hour

  That before Thy throne I spend,

When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,

  I commune as friend with friend!