Daily Devotional
Are You Seeking the Will of God?
“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
James 4:1-4
January 30, 2023
Ponder This
Sometimes our prayers are utterly selfish rather than God-centered. That’s one reason we don’t get our prayers answered. But do you know what enmity with God means? It’s talking about warfare. When James mentioned adulterers and adulteresses, he wasn’t talking literally; he was talking spiritually. Christ is the bridegroom and we’re the bride. And if we want anything that the bridegroom does not want, we are flirting with this world, and we are taking away our love from our Lord and Savior the bridegroom. To love this world is spiritual adultery, and it is enmity, warfare, with God. Don’t have a girlfriend called “This World,” if you are a Spirit-filled man. And if you’re a Spirit-filled woman, don’t have a boyfriend called “This World.” That is spiritual adultery. Many times, we ask God for things in this way. We ask God to underwrite our worldliness. We ask God to underwrite our carnality.
Whenever you pray about anything and the answer doesn’t come, ask yourself this question: Are my motives pure? Am I earnestly, sincerely, with all my heart, seeking the will of God? And sometimes the answer, therefore, may be simply denied.
- When have you prayed with selfish intentions?
- What does it look like to earnestly seek the will of God with all your heart?
Practice This
Read Psalm 51:10. Take some time to pray and ask God where there has been selfishness in your heart.
FOR YOUR GIFT TO THE MINISTRY
Front Porch Moments by Gayle Foster
WITH KEY INSIGHTS FROM HER FATHER, ADRIAN ROGERS
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”
