Change of Focus

March 13

Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith,” Hebrews 11:6, 7.

Faith is something everyone has but that many of us misplace. We eagerly put our trust in people, in institutions, in the weather! But we neglect to lay it at the feet of Jesus where it belongs—and indeed—where it will do us the most good.

Our race is much too preoccupied with the world. We live in an age of over-abundance and self-indulgence. Our grocery stores afford us aisle after aisle of foods and products from every state in the union and from virtually every country in the world.

We have the opportunity to satisfy our taste for the exotic fare of the far-flung corners of the globe, by simply strolling the aisles of our local grocery stores. The Internet gives us access to recipes for preparing these acquisitions in the authentic fashion of their nations of origin.

We believe in the ever-increasing resources that are daily more readily available to us, but as we become ever more reliant upon the world and its assets, we find ourselves less and less in possession of the power of the Living God at work in our lives.

Jesus said we could “ask anything,” using His name as the basis for our authority and it “will be done,” John 14:14, yet our prayers in His name rarely produce the results we seek. Why? Has His mighty name lost its power? Has the authority He gave us, which is reiterated again and again, been withdrawn from us?

James 4:3 addresses this lack. The brother of the Lord tells us that we ask with the wrong motives. Of course, our God understands our frame, Psalm 103;14; He knows our needs before we express them, Isaiah 65:24, and it is His desire to fulfill them, but His great intent is not so much to gratify the yearning within us but to satisfy His own desire!

And what is that desire of the heart of the Holy One? John 14:13 tells us His reason is “that the Father might be glorified in the Son.” Is His glory the intent of our hearts when we pray? Psalm 37:4 assures that if we, “delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart.”

If we will change our focus from our desires, from our needs, from the achievement of our ends to that of Jesus—that His name be lifted up (see John 12:32), He will reach down from Heaven and grant us our petition. And in so doing, He will be glorified by drawing all men to Himself.