As long as I’ve been a believer (I was saved and baptized at the age of 8 and rededicated my life to Christ over and over again — at least 20 times. I’m glad the last time I did it, it stuck.) you would think that there are some principles that I would have down pat by now.

Prayer, paying tithes, loving thy neighbor, all of that good stuff. I’ve gotten a revelation on why Christians do what we do, but as of recently, I’ve learned some new things about faith and prayer.

We believe God for some major things: debt cancellation, husbands, wives, health, new jobs, approval on business loans, a whole gamut of things that on our own we couldn’t do.

But WHY do we ask for these things? Do we really understand WHY God wants us to have the best of the best in life?

In Mark 14 we see Jesus at the Garden of Gethsemane praying for His life. He asks God to take away the burden of saving the whole entire world, to let this “bitter cup” pass from Him.

Jesus had a desire. In His heart of hearts, He prayed and prayed HARD for His prayer to be heard by God and His desires to be given to Him. v. 36(a) And He was saying, Abba, [which means] Father, everything is possible for You. Take away this cup from Me; (amplified version)

But Jesus understood something that I (and many others) don’t understand about prayer: how does what I want help the kingdom of God?

Jesus had enough faith to get anything He wanted. He could have, at any time, continued to pray until He saw what he asked for manifested.

How would that have helped the Kingdom of God? It wouldn’t have. We’d all be lost, doomed, damned to the pits of hell. While Jesus’ prayer was sincere and He could have gotten it, it did not help promote God’s will in the earth.

Good thing the latter half of the prayer was a reflection of God’s will and not His own.

v.36 And He was saying, Abba, [which means] Father, everything is possible for You. Take away this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You [will]. (amplified version)

We have to know what God’s will before we can ever get a revelation as to WHY we need that thing.

If I’m praying for supernatural debt cancellation, MY desire is so that I can have more money to do the things that I want to do. HIS desire is so that my money is free to do what He’s commissioned all of us to do: care for the poor and needy. (Don’t believe me? Deuteronomy 15:1-3, Deuteronomy 14:6, Luke 14:12-14, and my fave Romans 13:6:8)

Debt limits us to do the work of the kingdom. And that is why God doesn’t want us in it.

As we continue to seek God and operate in obedience, check your prayer motives. When our will is in line with His, we reap the benefits. The benefits, however, should not be the heart desire.

The heart desire is what His heart is set on: Kingdom.

On the Chase,

Alisha L.