We ask God for so many things and would appreciate most of them delivered directly to us sooner rather than later. I'm sure you're willing to admit that the timeline you offer God in the majority of your prayers is less often,
"When you get around to it, Lord"
... and is most often asked for Him to do it
"Right Now!"
We pray to God simply because we know we can do nothing apart from Him. God holds us along with this world in His mighty hand. Everything we hope for will have to come through Him because He is the Highest Power and has promised to be mindful of our earnest plea,
"... what is man that thou art mindful of him" Psalms 8:4
Knowing this, however, you must also understand that in the grand scale of God's powerful plan and in His sovereign will, there is a factor other than God Himself involved in you receiving what you have asked of Him: YOU HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY!
In all of you desires; in everything you anticipate; in everything you put your faith in God for and expect Him to bring to pass including salvation, there is a part you must play. Therefore, if you haven't received what you have been asking God for, the underlying issue may very well be YOU!
There are things God has instructed you to do, whether you are willing to admit it today or not. There is something specific God is instructing you to do; and He will not do this thing for you. Maybe there's a lifestyle change you need to complete. Maybe there's someone in your life you need to forgive. Maybe there's someone in your life you need to ask for forgiveness from. Whatever it is, for you, it will be hard work (psychological; not necessarily physical). Jesus commissioned his disciples saying,
"The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field... " Matthew 9:37,38.
Jesus looked over the multitude who had came seeking him on more than one occasion and noticed immediately that all of them were seeking him for a harvest, but those prepared to devote their lives to him were few. God knows you want to reap a harvest; but God is not going to sow your field for that harvest. It's up to you to follow Him!
With almost every miracle Jesus did, there were instructions in order for the person to receive his miracle. Jesus required a "step" in faith on the receiver's end for him to proceed with the miracle he had come to perform. The best example of this is shown in John 5:2-9 with the story of the man by the pool.
According to the story, there was a shallow pool of water in Jerusalem where an angel would periodically "disturb" the water. The bible says who ever stepped into the water first after the angle left would be cured of whatever disease they had. So, naturally there was constantly a multitude of poor, sick, blind, lame and ailing people camped around the pool. The story tells of a certain man who had been in his condition for 38 years trying to be the first to get in. Jesus saw the man in verse 7:
"... When Jesus saw him lying, and knew that he had been there a long time in that case, he said to him, 'Do you want to be made whole?'" John 5:7
Christians today want healing. Christians want deliverance. We want answers. Some need resolution to situations and we need them TODAY. But how many are sitting idly waiting for it to happen? How many are like the man by the pool waiting for their miracle to fall out of the sky? If you talk to as many people as I do, you'll find that many Christians who need prayers answered are lying around waiting for something to happen. They're sitting idely instead of working on what they've prayed for as if it is done. Many aren't doing anything other than waiting for a breakthrough to happen around them and then hoping somebody puts them in it... They're waiting for somebody to get something started instead of starting something!
The problem is, when you sit idly in a position of ailment, you become what your infirmity is. In other words, when you sit in your condition for too long, you own your condition; then you become that condition.
The man by the pool was sitting there by the pool for so long that he became "the man by the pool". Sitting by that pool had become his full-time job at which he refused to miss a day. You can tell when someone has become their condition; the first thing which happens is they begin to wear their condition like a coat. Every time you see them, they recite the long list of what's wrong with them,
"... This is wrong... that is wrong... the other thing is wrong too... then yesterday I was at the mall and got shot at... " And so on...
Next, others will begin to identify the person by their long list of infirmities,
"... Have you seen Michael? You know... the one with all the stuff wrong... the one that got shot at... "
Once a person's condition becomes their identity, in many cases, they wouldn't do their part to get free even if their life depended on it (which it does). That's why Jesus asked the man, "Do you want to be made whole?" In other words, Jesus asked him, "Will you let go of your infirmity and be healed?"
You would expect the man to say "Yes" to this question; but this man's initial answer was "No". You don't believe me? Read it for yourself. Jesus asked a "Yes" or "No" question. The man did not say "Yes", instead he gave Jesus the reason as to why he hadn't been made whole. After the man recited his list of what's wrong, in my opinion, he was prepared to let Jesus just walk away. He had been an invalid for so long that he'd become his situation. He didn't recognize that his wait was over; the Anointing power of the Most High God which he had been waiting for was in the flesh standing right in front of him!
If you identify yourself as always broke, then you've become "the man by the pool". If you say you are always sick, then you've become "the man by the pool". If you constantly tell people "My life is messed up... I never change... I always do that..." or whatever, then, sadly, you have become "the man by the pool" and I'm willing to bet people avoid talking to you.
Fortunately "the man by the pool" in this story received a second chance. Jesus ignored his whining and told him,
"Take up your bed and walk" John 5:8
At that point, the man could either do what Jesus asked and walk away from his condition, or be crippled for another 38 years (or whatever years he had left). The man chose obedience to Jesus' instruction and left the side of the pool forever.
If you sit and cling to what's wrong in your life, years will pass and it will still be wrong... and you'll be mad at God because it will feel like He's failed you. But it was YOU who failed YOU! You've got to GET UP from the side of the pool! The power of the Holy Spirit is within you RIGHT NOW; you've just got to engage Him. Fill yourself with faith ("Faith Cometh By Hearing..." Romans 10:17) and let God instruct you. Then DO YOUR PART! Stop looking for something to happen around you and get to work on a miracle that will start with YOU!
