THE LITTLE FOXES THAT SPOIL THE VINE

Why Prayers Are Not Answered and Sacrifices Not Honoured Truly, the bible says, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). However, we all know that this is not usually the case with most of us. Many are the times we have fervently asked, sought, and knocked for one thing or the other from God and man without being granted our heart’s desire. This write-up is an attempt to explain some of the reasons why some of our prayers and services to God are neither answered nor rewarded. Meanwhile, it is important that we note that the reasons proffered below are not totally exhaustive. There may well be some other reasons why we do not get answers to our prayers. But the ones below are those the LORD unveiled to me in the course of time after I asked Him the reason for this phenomenon some months ago. Let us now consider them: IGNORANCE The first reason why some of our prayers are not answered is because of our ignorance. The LORD says in Hosea 4:6a that ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge’. While most of us know this scripture very well and even quote it often in discourse, we still nonetheless fall victim to its veracity. It is amazing to see the way we go all out to seek something and still truncate our own efforts or chances of getting such thing by our actions or inactions, done in ignorance. Let us look at two ways ignorance robs us of rewards and answered prayers. Self-sabotage: Oftentimes, we are diligent in our supplications to God about an issue and even do all we could to ensure that we get our heart’s desire. But little carelessness in a seemingly unrelated or unimportant matter may be the spoiler that will foil our chances of getting that for which we have for so long been seeking the face of God. A wrong thought, a wrong statement, a wrong action, or a wrong indulgence carelessly entertained when it does not seem to matter may just be the spoiler that will prevent our much sought-after blessing from being delivered to us. We all know that the earth we live in is spherical in shape. However, most of us do not realise that life itself is circular in nature. What this means is that even as the earth orbits or goes round the sun, so do our thoughts, words and actions revolve around the ultimate entity that is our lives. There is nothing like “it does not matter”, “it does not affect…”, “it does not relate to…” or “it is not important to…” in the cycle of life. Every single thought, word, and action contributes to our state of being at any point in time. Nurturing evil thoughts and intentions towards someone, saying the wrong thing to or about someone, or doing a wrong thing to someone may not seem to be connected to that thing we are seeking the face of God (or man) for, but the bitter truth is that they really do affect it and may be the reason why we do not get our desire at times. Not Knowing the Required Principles: the second way ignorance robs us of our breakthroughs is by our not knowing the right thing to do to get what we want. We have often heard the saying that God operates by principles. And truly the bible is replete with several passages that hinge the attainment of certain blessing on the fulfilment of one condition or another. These are clear indications of what it takes to get such blessings. For instance, someone who desires financial prosperity may not attain it by constant prayer and fasting. That is like using Phensic to cure stomachache. The bible is very clear on what it takes to be prosperous; it is by giving, giving, and giving. Another example is that of someone who desires power (the ability to control or influence happenings both in the spiritual and the physical realm), but who is not given to constant fasting and a prayerful lifestyle, he is only deluding himself. He may not have it; no matter how great he or she can sing or how committed he or she may be in the church. The list of ‘to-dos’ to get ‘what’ goes on and on. That is why it is good for us to be devoted to reading our bible regularly, for apart from the primary benefit of the knowledge of God it will avail us, it also contains all the information we need for life and godliness as well as all the relevant principles we need to apply to obtain the various good things we desire in life. But many of us Christians do not know this, and that is why we usually use the “wrong” approach to achieve the right end, and thereby end up not getting the desired result. The bible says in Hosea 4:14c “people who do not understand will be trampled.” Ignorance, pure and simple, is usually the major cause of most of our sufferings. NOT DOING ENOUGH (praying, giving, sacrificing etc) Another reason we do not receive what we seek from God is because we do not do enough of what it takes to receive our heart’s desire. The bible says, “If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie” (Ecclesiastes 11:3). Oftentimes we are complacent and settle for the average or even below average performance in our pursuits in life. We do not pray enough, fast enough, give enough, serve enough, or do enough of what is required to get our miracle. We do not fill our clouds with enough water so that they might burst out and rain upon us in return, nor do we push our tree with enough force so that it can fall down and create an impact that will speak for us. ASKING FOR THE WRONG THINGS “You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures” (James 4:3). Some of us seek after or ask for the wrong things in prayer. God is a good God. And it is because of this His goodness that He does not give us those things we frantically seek or pray for. He knows that if we should get them, they might harm us or ultimately deprive us of getting to heaven. And knowing that no earthly pleasure – which is at best for a lifetime – can compare with the everlasting glory He has prepared for us, He will not stop at anything to ensure that we partake of this glory, even if it means denying or disciplining us at times. It is therefore important for us to know that He is not under any obligation to satisfy all our whims; rather He is only obliged to supply our needs as a caring Father. NOT QUALIFIED/MATURE YET TO HAVE IT Some times, we behave like little children and ask God for something we are neither matured nor equipped to handle. Imagine a ten-year-old boy asking for a car? That is the picture some of us present sometimes in our prayer requests and aspirations. We ask for and aspire after what we are not mentally, spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, financially, or socially equipped to manage. And when the One Who knows best and has it all decides not to release them to us, we whine and complain all day long, doubting if He really cares as we are made to believe. There is a world of difference between anointing and character; the possession of one does not connote the ownership of the other. A popular saying says, “Anointing can launch one to a height where character is not able to sustain him.” Such is the case when we ignorantly seek certain things at a time that it may result in our humiliation or public disgrace to the point that we will not have the courage to ever venture up again. God is omniscient, and because of this attribute of His, He knows the appropriate time to give us everything we will ever need for life and godliness. But due to our limited knowledge, we often strive, scheme, and struggle for what we cannot hold on to at a particular point in time. It requires wisdom to know the when of everything we desire in life. Imagine if Daniel had prayed for the liberation of the captives at Babylon at their 20th or 40th year in captivity, he would have only been praying into the future because God had already decreed that the captivity would last for 70 years. And any activities to turn around the captivity before the appointed time would have only amounted to an effort in futility. Wisdom is knowing the appropriate time you are due for something and aspiring/praying for it then, not before or after, “Whoever obeys his command will come to no harm, and the wise in heart will know the proper time and procedure. For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man’s misery weighs heavily upon him” (Ecclesiastes 8: 5-6 NIV). MOTIVE Another reason we often do not get our hearts’ desire – regardless of our fervent prayers or sacrificial service – is because of our motive for seeking such things. We see in James 4:3 cited above that God does not honour prayers asked amiss or those that are meant to gratify our selfish whims. And though we may present our requests to Him as if we are striving for the benefit all, we should also reckon with the fact that He is all-knowing and sees into the inner recesses of our hearts. One of the most liberating scriptures I came across in the few years I have been studying the bible is 1 Samuel 16:7b. It says, “For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” Man considers the action, the appearance, the outlook, the seen, and the ‘what’ of people and things, but God looks at the motive and the ‘whys’. Some of us pray to God to bless us so that we can spite or ‘show’ someone who has offended or denied us in the past. God does not answer that kind of prayer. Whatever He blesses you with, He meant to be used for your benefit and the benefit of those around you, friends or foes. So if you want a speedy answer to your prayers or a quick reward for your service, check your motive very well to know WHY you desire that thing. If your motive is genuine enough, or you need that thing for your purpose or sustenance in life, God will be more than willing to grant it to you. But you need to really settle this issue of motive first because God cannot be deceived; He knows those things you are not saying with your mouth. I once read a write-up where the writer said an angel told him that they hear the thoughts of men more loudly in heaven than what we say with our mouths on earth! Can you beat that? NOT TAKING A STEP OF FAITH Even after all is said and done, and we have done all we possibly could to get our miracles, some of us still short-change ourselves by not taking the necessary step required to get our desire. We procrastinate by crying, whining, and bemoaning our lot in life, to whoever cares to listen, and lament about all we had done to get this or that without any result. The truth is that God is not impressed by tears and complaints. He is moved only by faith. The bible says ‘without faith, it is impossible to please God’. And because we have not yet grasped the import of the bible’s definition of faith as “the confident assurance that what we hope for is going to happen” (Heb 11:1 NLT), we wait (tarry?) for the time when it is going to look like it before we take any step at all, and therefore languish in abjection for as long as that may be. Listen my brethren, the best time to do anything is NOW. Don’t wait until it looks like it before you act, otherwise it may be too late by then. The bible says “He who observes the wind will not sow. And he who regards the clouds will not reap” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). The New Living Translation (NLT) puts it simpler thus, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done!” So take a step of faith, cast your net into the deep, and do that thing you have been putting off for so long TODAY! And you will be surprised to discover that YOU are the one who has been delaying God from blessing you all along, not that He doesn’t care or slow in hearing as you probably thought. Nothing moves until you move. A tortoise cannot make progress unless it puts out its head and legs out of its shell. So get out of your shell and break through into your blessing. THE LAW OF SEED AND HARVEST Another way some of us unwittingly delay or even truncate our miracle is by our blatant violation of the ageless law of seed and harvest. God Himself decrees in Genesis 8:22 that “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” This law of seed and harvest is as immutable as God Himself; it does not change. “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). But it is amazing how often we deceive ourselves by despising the effect (result) while nurturing the cause that results in that same effect. Have you denied someone in the past when you shouldn’t have? You can be rest assured that you will also be denied too, if you are not being denied already. Have you wronged, robbed, cheated, condemned, judged, short-changed, or done something untoward to someone in the past (no matter who the person is), you will reap the harvest of your thoughts and (in)actions in due time, if you are not reaping it already. And we all know that the harvest is usually bigger than the seed. This is one major area I think we usually fall short and thus shoot ourselves in the leg. Granted, God is merciful, but He is also a just God. I have the privilege of having read the bible a number of times, and one of the discoveries I made about God is that He is not a fair God; He is only just. Now that may sound unreasonable to some of us, but it is the truth. We all suffer the natural consequences of our shortcomings from time to time albeit the fact that we have sought forgiveness and have indeed been forgiven their eternal consequences. We will get to reap the harvest of the seeds we have sown in the past or are sowing presently, either good or bad, at one time or another. That is why it always pays to do good and be good. Even when you are the one that is wronged, you are not expected to wrong your offender in return because by so doing you will only plant a seed of wickedness whose harvest you will reap in time. Little wonder the Bible is replete with several passages that command that we do not repay evil with evil. SINS The final reason we shall consider as one of the ‘whys’ for unanswered prayers is sin. Most of the times we shoot ourselves in the leg by our sinful indulgences in thoughts, in words, and in deeds. The bible says ‘God is angry with the wicked everyday’ (Psalm 7:11), how then can you hope to get anything from Him if you are always rubbing Him on the wrong side? Little disobediences here and there: an evil or lustful thought you allowed to roam in your heart, a wrong word you said to or about someone, an harmful deed you planned for or did to someone, or your blatant disregard for the injunctions of the bible. These are ‘the little, little foxes that spoil our vine’. But we often do not know. Another way that sin robs us of our miracles is through the little compromises we allow from time to time. You see, God tests us now and then to see the disposition of our hearts in relation to Him. He tests our faithfulness, our commitment, our loyalty, our maturity, our patience, and our preparation, among others, before committing certain things to us. How we fair during and after the moment of trial is what determines whether we are ripe for the blessing or not. God does not use or commit things to an untested vessel. If you run through the bible, you will see how true this statement is. Just as we have to write exams to pass from one class to a higher one, so does God examine us or allows the devil to tempt us from time to time with circumstances and real life situations. If you fail, the miracle is aborted or miscarried at that point, but if you overcome, it is delivered to you. However, because of His infinite mercy, we are usually presented with multiple opportunities to prove ourselves worthy so that if we fail at some time, we may overcome at other times and so obtain the goodies of that victory. In conclusion, I encourage us all to examine ourselves impartially to see that we are not falling short in any of these areas of spiritual leakages so that we can be able to say that we have indeed ‘done all to stand’ toward obtaining our miracle. Thanks for reading. God bless you. Shalom.