Prayer without Submission
Let me begin by saying I do believe in the common Grace of God. How else would the sinner’s prayer be heard? How else would the confession of sin and the understanding of the redemption of the blood of Christ Jesus be heard? Does the scripture not teach us in the words of our Lord that no one comes unless the Father draws them, and that no one comes to the Father except by Christ? John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.
Yes, I believe this is the common Grace allowed to all men.|
I have been asked if God hears prayer. For the saved the answer is yes, and it is yes for those that call out to be saved if they recognize that their sin is their condemnation and that Christ Jesus is the only redemption.
The thief on the cross is the perfect example of this; when that man realized exactly who Jesus was and he asked to be remembered, then at that moment he was saved by the grace of God through the gift of faith that had been given to him by God to see and understand in his heart that Jesus was the Christ.
Paul, speaking to the Thessalonians in 1st Thessalonians 1:4 said, “For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you.” We all must remember that only a few will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Many professing Christians have minuscule prayer lives—they only pray in times of trouble, or if they want something badly, and outside of those times they remain silent. There is no relationship with the Lord, and to be factual, Christ is forgotten in their daily life and is only a convenience in desperation when all else fails. Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
Do these verses not explain that prayer and the remembrance of Christ must be the priority in our daily walk? Let me address what I believe to be a couple of very dangerous deceptions in modern Christianity. First is the “repeat after me” lie! Words do not get anyone into the Kingdom of Heaven. Words are just that—nothing more than words.
Salvation is a matter of the heart; a matter of belief and understanding, and not just an utterance of a couple of sentences of phrases. We must believe in our hearts that Jesus was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life, that he was crucified on a cross and took upon Himself the transgressions of the world, that He died and was placed in a tomb, and then rose again on the third day.
We must be convicted of our sins, must realize our lost condition and condemnation, and know that the blood of our Savior is the only way to Heaven, rather than only speaking words. Yes, it is the plea of the lost heart that brings salvation.
In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, the words of Paul explains this when he said, “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”
The second topic I believe to be very dangerous in the modern Christian community is the “name it and claim it” mentality. Those that follow this deception are not serving God but rather serve Satan and defile God. Oh, I know what the deceivers say.
They will quote verses like, “God will give you the desires of your heart” and but understand this: these verses are true for those that are sold out to God, because their hearts will be aligned with the will of God and the desires of their hearts will be in lock step in God’s will for them rather than in riches and material things only.
Solomon spoke clearly on this when in the midst of abundance he said, ‘It’s all Vanity.” Selfishness has no place in the Kingdom of Heaven! Selfishness is a form of pride, and God hates pride. It was pride that was the original sin; it was pride that caused Lucifer to be cast out of Heaven, and he even lost his name in the process.
That once beautiful angel in Heaven became the most reviled, all because of selfishness. It is Satan that will provide riches to many in the name-it-and-claim-it communities, not God, and all for the sole purpose of distraction and deception. The scripture clearly teaches us to not store up our treasures on earth but to store up treasures in Heaven.
The teaching these false prophets conveniently leave out is the absolute fact the God said, “To whom much is given, much is required!” This exposes the lie of the adversary—the twisting of the word, the sin of omission that runs rampant in the demonstrative falsehood of the name-it-and-claim-it temples of Satan.
John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
This whole world is full of the twists and deceptions of the adversary. What we must endeavor to avoid is the deceiving of ourselves. There is no halfway for the Christian; being lukewarm is disgusting to God as taught in the book of Revelation—it is all or nothing at all. In the story of the rich young ruler we learn that this young man was well respected and affluent.
He had kept the law but when he asked Jesus what he needed to do to gain heaven, Jesus told him he needed to sell his belongings, give the proceeds to the poor, and follow Him. The young man walked away dejected because he was not willing to commit what it takes to be a follower of Christ. (Ref. Matthew 19)
In Mark 12:30, we are told we must “love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength.” ALL, not part, and not after anything else—ALL, first and always!
The Lord doesn’t demand we sell all our things or be destitute to be a follower of Him, but if required we must, in our hearts and minds, be willing to do so. Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
Anything we put before Jesus is an idol, and idols are not allowed.
If we are not willing to become completely sold out to Christ, then we cannot expect a lot of results from our prayers. Reading the Word we learn that God searches the hearts of men. He knows what the desires of your heart are, and if those desires are not within God’s will, then you can expect nothing.
Prayer is not a magic wand; it is a petition to Heaven seeking the mercy and blessing of God. We know that we are expected to read and understand the Word of God, because the question Christ asked most was, “Have you not read?” Our minds should match the Word. Are we not told that, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he?” We are also taught that the prayers of a righteous man avails much.
In closing, the bottom line is if you, or we, as professing believers will not fully surrender to God, if we hold anything back, then we have placed that portion of our lives above our Savior in order of importance. I cannot see how a person that claims to love the Lord can put any aspect of their life before Him.
What you do not correct, you tolerate;
What you tolerate, you condone.
Kenneth Kellar
A Man Called by God to Teach and Disciple