Prayer & The Holy Spirit

Part 10

 

Prayer & Giving Gifts

This subject is at the heart of our identity. Peter calls the church a, “Royal Priesthood”, (1st Pet. 2:9). If a Priesthood does not sacrifice, is it truly a priesthood at all?  What kind of priesthood are we?  Royal, Living and Holy. Our sacrifices are made with our own bodies and MONEY, Acts 2:45, 4:34-37, 11:29. Jesus commanded that we use our money sacrificially, Lk. 12:32-34, never forget Zacchaeus, Lk. 19:8. Don’t be like the rich young ruler who went away sorrowful.

There is a spiritual principle bound up in our hearts and reflected in our prayers, concerning giving. God stops listening to us, when we stop listening to the needs of our brethren and neighbor, Prv. 21:13. God wants to reciprocate our grace with His grace, Prv. 19:17. This principle of asking, giving and answering is applicable to…
Relationships in marriage, 1st Pet. 3:7, Relationships in the church, Lk. 6:38, and Relationships in the world, Gal. 6:7-10,
2nd Cor. 9:6-8.

It makes no sense for a stingy Christian to ask God of anything. Many Christians who struggle with selfishness, may question that if this principle is true, then why are there so many rich pagans in the world?  The answer lay in the fact that neither Satan nor his millions of minions are poor. He is the prince of worldly people, Eph. 2:2, and works in them. God however, reigns and it is obvious that He sends the rain and sunshine on both the just and unjust, Matthew 5:45, allowing the work of Satan to continue until His appointed day of Judgment arrives.

When we think of giving and receiving, we cannot merely think of money & materials, but also our time, strength and love as well. The apostle Paul teaches us a spiritual principle which none of us can change. God wants to answer our prayers, but He Himself has determined the guidelines. God is able to make all grace abound to us, written in
2nd Cor. 9:8, but whom does the word, “us” in the text refer to? CHEERFUL GIVERS, see verse 7.  In God’s eyes, it is not enough for us to just give, because He sees and knows why and how we give. When we pray about this, we nurture and allow God to direct our motives in giving, becoming cheerful and liberal. This is why God desires obedience more than sacrifice. Because if we obey from the heart this form of teaching, then the sacrifices we make are pleasing to God. It is not the quantity of our sacrifice that is important, but rather the quality of our prayers in offering our sacrifices.  What is the difference between the money we give in the theatre, and the money we give in the church? PRAYER and PURPOSE. God sanctifies our contribution in the Jesus Christ, IF we give according to this form of teaching in His word. If we are not giving and using this money, liberally, prayerfully and cheerfully, is it acceptable and sanctified?
It is not a coincidence that the very first usage of the word prayer, is in reference to the generous Abraham in praying for the healing of Abimelech, his wife and maidservants, Gen. 20:17-18. Abraham was not selfish in his prayers and he was not selfish in his behaviour. When presented with the earlier problem of Lot and his herdsmen complaining, he instantly offered the best land to Lot in order to quieten the strife between his herdsmen and Lot’s. This kind of attitude and behaviour results in God listening and answering his children.
One of the biggest promises God makes in His word is: “Whatever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” 1st John 3:22. What are those “THINGS” we should be doing? See verse 14, love the brethren, not just in word, but in deed!  We know that the Holy Spirit is involved in enforcing this principle because of what Jesus said about The Father giving good gifts. Luke 11:5-13. Jesus compares a friend coming to a friend, with a child coming to the Father. If friends give because of “boldness”, how much more will the Father give to his adopted children because of love? The Holy Spirit (Himself) is given because when we have God with us, we are motivated by his goodness to sacrifice for others. If we do not sacrifice are we really like our Father or His Son? Perhaps the most expensive gift you will be asked to give is forgiveness. Ephesians 4:32. If we don’t give that, what do we get in return? Condemnation. Pray like Jesus, Lk. 23:34.