Victory in Seeking God

Most of us have heard this story - "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp". It is a story about a boy, named Aladdin, who found a magic lamp in which a genie resided. The genie granted Aladdin three wishes, and the rest is history. What baffled me is the lack of any real relationship between Aladdin and the genie. Aladdin and the genie never socialized and never really developed a friendship. Their only communication was initiated by Aladdin when he was in a tight spot and needed something. He was interested only in getting as much as he could out of the genie. Surely you will agree with me that Aladdin was a very selfish and insensitive person.

Our Lord is not a genie

It is easy to see that many contemporary Christians are guilty of the same selfishness and insensitivity of Aladdin. Tragically, we treat the Lord, our God, like a genie in a magic lamp. Like young Aladdin with his genie, we often have very little relationship with our God. We call on Him only when we are in a tight spot and need something.

Many of us are seeking things from God under the pretense of seeking God. When we are sick, we seek healing from God. When hard financial times hit, we seek money from God. We call this seeking God, but in reality we are light years away from seeking God. The one who truly seeks God expects only one thing: God. He is looking for God, not just the things God. The prayer of his life is, "God, I just want You".

I believe we share a common trait with God in relationships. Any time we begin a new relationship we are hesitant to reveal very much about who we really are. However, if that relationship begins to develop and we recognize that this person is truly interested in who we are, we begin to tell this person things about ourselves that we would tell no one else. In the same way, God is hesitant to reveal very much of Himself to any casual seeker. However, when a person is truly interested in knowing who He is, he will seek Him in prayer. To such a person, God will reveal Himself in dynamic ways.

The urgent or the important

In contemporary Christianity, the demand of time in our work life, family life, Church life and social life is so great that we do not find much time in a day to pray. But when one of our children is seriously ill, or we receive a salary cut at work, or we are diagnosed as terminally ill, the day seems to expand. Suddenly, there is time enough to pray.

If we only pray when we are in the midst of a crisis, we develop the idea that prayer is just an "SOS" to God. Consequently, we never pray unless there is a disaster so great that we need to transmit a distress call to God. We are left with the misconception that prayer is a communication used exclusively as a remedy to overwhelming tragedy.

During tragedy we focus our prayers on the urgent and tend to ignore th important. It may be urgent that we receive a healing, but is is very important to just sit back and tell God how much we love and need Him. During a crisis, praying an "important" prayer is difficult. That is why we need to pray in non-crisis times. There is nothing wrong with praying during a crisis (in fact, we must), but if that is the only time we pray, there is something wrong!

Inferior substitute for the Gift of God

When Simon, who practiced sorcery, saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money saying: "Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive that Holy Spirit" (Acts 8:19, NKJV).

Peter said to him, "Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money" (Acts 8:20).

The Holy Spirit, the gift of God which speaks of the Anointing, is not a marketable commodity. We need to invest time in God's presence to receive that divine touch - the Anointing. In other words, we need to seek God continuously if we want to be used by him to touch lives.

Paul said, "I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speeech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God" (1 Cor. 2:3 - 5).

Paul was convinced that the Holy Spirit would confirm his preaching without making use of his own human wisdom. Yet many of today's preachers depend solely upon their showmanship and eloquence or human wisdom. There is no substitute for the gift of God's Spirit which comes only with much prayer.

Seeking God in prayer develops conviction

Jesus said, "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; ..." (John 16:7, 8).

Clearly, convictions are established by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts in three areas: in sin, in righteousness, and in judgment. We need to give good thought to the area of righteousness. Many Christians today claim to be - "In the world and not of the world" and yet there is very little righteous living, even among the believers in the Local Church.

The key to our conviction is having a consistent prayer life. When there is no prayer, there is no Holy Spirit to convict. You can base your convictions on the Bible, but only if you are a person of prayer. If you are not a person of prayer, you will not have the guidance and instruction from the Holy Spirit that you need.

The Scripture has never been a source of conviction apart from the Holy Spirit. The New Testament Pharisees are ample proof of this. They knew and could quote all the Old Testament Scriptures, but that knowledge was useless to them because they had a wrong spirit. With their knowledge of the Old Testament, they were able to crucify the Son of God. That is why Jesus said it was to our advantage that He lieves to send the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit we can end up no better than the Pharisees!

God working in us

Paul said, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, ..."(Eph. 3:20, NKJV, emphasis added).

Paul also said, "... for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13, emphasis added).

Paul understood that God only does things in accordance with His power at work in us. Paul did not say "according to the power that works through us". There is a great difference here.

Most contemporary Christians want to be used mightily by God. In other words, they want God to work through them. But the fact is that anyone desires to be used by God. God has to work in him and not work through him. To desire God to work through him is a selfish desire.

How many of us are not tempted to pray for the gifs of the Spirit? Our fleshly nature tells us that if we are going to attract big crowds and to become a popular minister, we have got to have the Word of Knowledge; the Word of Wisdom; and the gifts of healings. We want God to work through us while God wanted to work in us. Wanting God to simply work through us is a pursuit for our own satisfaction and glory. On the other hand, wanting God to work in us is a pursuit of character development.


The fact is that we don't have to earn gifts and we don't even have to pray for gifts because we don't deserve any gift at all! The whole thought of being used by God is very appealing to the flesh. However, God can use anybody. God can work through a donkey. God's working through us is not the problem; God's working in us is!


We need to understand the connection between Jesus and the gifts. If seeking Jesus is our way of life, we will receive His gifts. Consequently, we must not focus on more of God using us than God Himself. We must not concern ourselves with the gifts as much as the fruit of the Spirit - Love, Joy, Peace, ... (Gal. 5:22, 23).


Paul said, "And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another" (Gal. 5:24 - 26, NKJV).


Conseder what Paul said to the Corinthians: "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but I have not love, I am nothing" (1 Cor. 13:1, 2).


Paul's emphasis here is on character (the fruit) rather than the gifts. The gifts are of no value without the character (love) of Christ. Even if the gifts are in operation, the thing that impresses God is not what He can do through us but rather what He can do in us.


The gifts of the Spirit never prove a ministry. They work through us and can work in the life of any person to whom they are given. The fruit of the Spirit, on the other hand, proves who we are. Keep in mind that gifts are received, but fruit is developed!


To be used by God effectively


As we have seen above the key to effectiveness in our ministry is God working in us. When we spend great amounts of time in seeking God in prayer, it changes our ministry. We become far more effective because through spending time in the presence of God, people tend to see Jesus in us. It is not that fasting and prayer make a person a better speaker; it is that prayer and fasting denote self denial and character is developed through self denial.


When we focus on God's working through us, we primarily concern ourselves with what man sees. When we focus on God's working in us, we primarily concern ourselves with what God sees. We must develop a deep love for God, for God is love (1 John 4:8) and love is His fruit in us.


Jesus said, "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad treee bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them" (Matt. 7:17 - 10).


The kind of fruit we produce is determined by how much time we spend in the presence of God. God must always be our objective and never the gifts. We must let the gifts flow out of a right relationship with God.


Genuine Authority


One of the most prominent qualities of Jesus' preaching and teaching was the authority with which He spoke.


"And they were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes" (Mark 1:22).


Many contemporary Christians do not understand what is meant by "authority" in this context. We must first acknowledge that this genuine authority is granted to us because of our position, not because of our vocal power. Since we are in Christ (that is our position), we have authority. One man's ability to project his voice further than another man does not means he has greater authority. In prayer, for example, if we are required to pray for something a second time, we will do so, only more loudly than the first time. If we are required to pray a third time, we will shout.


Jesus said to the Sudducees, "You are mistaken, not knowing the scripture nor the power of God" (Matt. 22:29).


Jeus mentioned two constituents of authority here - authority through knowledge of Scripture and authority through God's power.


Authority through knowledge and Power


We have the authority that Jesus spoke abut if we seek Him in prayer and in study of God's Word. God's Word provides us knowledge about God, while prayer will help us to know God.


A preacher might understand the Scipture and able to quote God's Word in both Hebrew and Greek; able to preach with great eloquence and fabulous style, but if he failed to let God working in him through seeking Him in prayer, he is a talented but powerless preacher. And his preaching lacks power and authority to change lives.


Proverbs 2:1 - 5 shows us the importance of the combination of God's Word and prayer. Through the practice of these two elements will result in the knowledge of God. Therefore, a preacher must discipline himself to pray diligently and to study God's Word diligently. Then only will he know God. Then only will signs and wonders manifested in his ministry.


God spoke to Jeremiah: "Call to me, and I will answer, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know" (Jeremiah 33:3).


God has promised you those great and mighty things if only you will call to Him. When you are seeking and communing with Him, you are developing an awareness of His power. However, you will not see and experience that power until you transfer your head knowledge about God's power into heart knowledge through prayer. After much prayer, your intellectual assent will blossom into a life-changing reality which will permeate your life and ministry!