You Have Not Because You Ask Not...

 James 4:1-4

1 What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you? ² You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. ³ And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.

⁴ You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. NLT

As believers of Jesus Christ we must understand that in order to obtain God's promises for us we have the need to draw near to Him, inquire of Him, trust and rely on Him, and acknowledge our necessity of Him above all else.  It is for this purpose alone that He allows us to know His plan and purpose for our lives and increases us at every step of our obedience. This is also designed to help us obtain the character of Christ that will sustain us in His power and authority when we reach our destiny, and will propel us to cause greater damage in the camp of the enemy to set others free for His glory alone.

In addition, the process we are taken through serves the purpose of removing the influence of the religious-anti-Christ spirit that rules the world and has infiltrated the church with its demonic doctrines designed to derail the church from its apostolic assignment of taking dominion over the land to advance God's Kingdom given to Adam. Adam lost it to Satan, but Jesus bought it back when He died on the Cross and shed His blood to set us free and reconcile us to the Father. It was then handed down to the early church but contested over the centuries, but in these end times we have the mandate to demonstrate this dominion to the world.

The religious anti-Christ influence has manifestations outlined in the passage above and as we acknowledge its influence in us, we can cry out to God to help us be set free from it at every step of our process on the way to our destiny. The passage shows that where there is this type of influence there are quarrels and fights between groups or individuals. These fights exist because one group or individual opposes another in an attempt to obstruct or stop the plans and purposes of God and it comes in the form of persecution of the other group or individual.

We all have different levels of our training and walk with God and are all given the chance to reach our destiny in God's prescribed way.  But some are more reluctant to allow God to remove the worldly influence from them and are found with unbelief of the ways of God. They fight others that may be steps closer to fulfilling God's designed process for them and scheme and kill through criticism, slander and gossip fashioned to destroy the name and influence of God through those they are persecuting. Also, through this worldly influence, they employ the world's ways to achieve what they want even if it means taking it from those God has handed it to because they have paid the price required to obtain it.

Among believers this happens a great deal and it also takes the form of praying witchcraft or manipulative prayers, and seeking God's hand instead of His heart through manipulative worship only to get what they want without the accountability and responsibility of paying the price required. Our prayer to God should be to help us develop the character of Christ found in the nine fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) above every promise or desire. This is what it means to seek first the kingdom of God and all His righteousness, so we can then see our desires added on to us (Matthew 6:31-33).

Among believers, those that refuse to allow God to remove the worldly influence from them and instead let the enemy use them to manipulate and control their way towards God's promises at the expense of the innocent, thus applying the ways of the world, are considered enemies of God. God has a day of visitation in which He will give to everyone according to what he (or she) has done (Revelation 22:12).

If you have found this type of influence in you, repent and cry out to God to cleanse you and deliver you from it so your mind can be renewed and you can be found on the side of mercy instead of on the side of judgment on this day of visitation. This process will take time and you will also be taken out of your comfort zone, but it will ensure  that you will reach your destiny in God in a way that will show Christ and will allow the Holy Spirit to use you to direct others to The Way, The Truth, and The Life that is only found in Christ Jesus our Lord. To Him alone be all the glory.

To God Alone

Matthew 6:13

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. NKJV

The Father provided for us a way of escape through His son, who walked on the earth knowing every testing and temptation that man would encounter because He encountered them as well. By coming to Him in intimate communion He can guide us and give us the strength necessary to walk out of every tempting situation sent to derail us, detour us, or destroy what God has planned for us and the life Jesus died to give us.

Hebrews 2:14-18 says,
14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. NLT

Sometimes these testings and temptations come in the form of persecution. The enemy sends attacks to block, obstruct, or prevent us from taking the steps we need to get to our destination in God. But Jesus came to destroy the works the devil has devised against us (1 John 3:8). He did that while on earth and still does it through us when we cry out to Him in prayer and supplication for justice to be done on our behalf and against the enemy. This is because that becomes an opportunity for Him to demonstrate His power on our behalf for the glory due His name as He makes accessible to us His children the riches of His Kingdom.

Isaiah 42:8 says in the NCV version, “I am the Lord. That is my name.
I will not give my glory to another; I will not let idols take the praise that should be mine.

This passage also serves as a means to enlighten us about the possible reasons we may go through persecutions. One reason could be for us to realize when we have refused to die to the desires of our flesh and have raised for ourselves idols. These could take the form of human beings in the relationships we have or want to have, wealth and how we go about building it, and sometimes our bodies and how much time and effort we put or do not put into taking good and adequate care of it. It could also be that we are worshiping images of things or people that did not sacrifice for us or died on the Cross like Jesus did, or are refusing to let go of what does not glorify the Lord in our lives. There is a great number of things we can turn into idols if we're not careful. That includes how we spend our time and to what do we dedicate most of it without acknowledging the God who created earth and everything in it, the world and everyone who lives in it (Psalm 24:1).

As we accept to follow and obey His commands and statues He's faithful to guide us (Psalm 37:23) by His Spirit to the successful manifestation of His plans and promises to us. And even when the enemy wants to bring obstacles to our path, God is able to remove the obstacles and the enemy of our promises. Another reason God moves on our behalf when we continue to come to Him with cries  for justice to be done is because the situations are such that only He can turn around. No vision is lost when with obedience we give our hearts, our praise, and trust to the God of our salvation, for His alone is the Kingdom demonstrated, and the power to save us, and the glory due His name forever. To Him alone be all the glory.