Do you remember when Jesus was tempted by Satan for 40 days in the wilderness? Satan said "If thou art the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it
is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and, On
their hands they shall bear thee up, Lest haply thou dash thy foot
against a stone."Matthew 4:6 ASV
Then "Jesus said unto him, Again it is written, Thou shalt not make trial of the Lord thy God." Matthew 4:7 ASV
Well I have always wondered what that that meant exactly. So the other day I was thinking about a comment I was presented with from a fellow believer concerning the issue of presenting what you want to God and claiming it in His name. My fellow believer had an objection to that type of teaching and I wasn't really sure what I felt about the subject.
I did know a few things. I knew that I believed in an unlimited God and that I have been led by the Spirit to follow the teaching of certain pastors and not others. So I did some reserach and I looked up the concept on the internet. I found accusations of false teaching as such. So I dropped the matter. Next I was led to remember another belief I have. It is about acceptance and the existence of paradoxes. I believe that most of the time we are presented with incomplete information. So I have learned to lean on the Holy Spirit to guide me so that I may have a full understanding of the subject matter. So ultimately I think about is for a while and then I let it go. What happens after that is, at some point, understanding enters my brain. It happens immediately sometimes and other times it takes days. However this is the understanding that I was led to about the name it and claim it concept:
When we say things like " I will stick my hands in a pit of snakes so that God can prove that he is God and nothing will hurt me because I have made Jesus the Lord of my life and savior, you are in pride.
If you say I want this house and because God said in John 14: 13-14, Matthew 21:22,1 John 5:14, Philippians 4: 6-7, Psalm 37:4 and a host of other places, that if I ask in Jesus name it will be given to me and so I demand this house, then you are in pride.
So what is the deal? Great question. The discipline is to move from pride, where it is all about you, to faith, where it is all about what will glorify God. In Jeremiah 31:33 KJV God says, "
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people." So for the believer God promises to give us the desires of our heart which he is in charge of and guiding.
So we desire that house but even though we believe God will give us the desires of our heart, we have to remember that we don't have all the information we need to determine the all the details in the right order and in the right timing. Details like: How will we get it? When will we get it? What is going to be going on at that time with our lives, the market, the neighborhood, etc? What changes will need to be made as a result of present conditions?
Ultimately, we have to remain flexible and open to God's will. See a desire is a simple matter to fill because there are infinite ways to fulfill it. For example, I had a secret desire to open a school by which I would have the students learn about spiritual, emotional and financial health. The school would be built of these concepts. I never persuaded the idea. I even forgot it for a while. Then I invented a game called The Vocabulary Game. It was invented trying to help a little girl study 100 vocabulary words over the summer. I was led by the Spirit to build the game and to take it to public schools and tutor sessions. The Holy Spirit brought back to my memory the desire I had when I was younger by giving me satisfaction. See I didn't really want to start a school but I did want to help build minds and the game allows me to do that.
I never set out to be an inventor or a teacher. I never set out to build a school. But the school was the only way I understood how to build minds. But God knows all and because I am committed to being led by Him that example is not unique in my life but more like the norm these days. When we are flexible it doesn't mean that we give up on our desires. Instead it means that we expect Him to bring the desire to pass but are willing to give up the method and timing of how it should come about. He's an unlimited God. He will supply all of our needs (Philippians 4:19), but greater than we can imagine (Ephesians 3:20). He still loves us and like any great parent wants the best for us.
