You’ve heard of The Secret right? It’s not all that hush, hush anymore. The basic premise is that there is this certain law of the universe, like gravity, that is referred to as the “Law of Attraction.” It basically means that whatever you think, feel or believe you attract to yourself. If you think you’re incompetent and will never achieve anything, chances are you won’t. On the other hand if you think you are smart and successful, you will most likely achieve some success. This is just the main example. However The Secret also goes so far as to say you can “send out energy” to the universe to get your dream car, house, spouse … you get the idea.
Well that doesn’t sound all that bad to me. I mean, there is power in what you think about yourself. If you think you can’t achieve something you probably won’t even try and if you don’t try you can never succeed. But if you think you can you will keep trying until you are bound to see success in at least one area. That seems a little more like “common sense” than “secret” but who knows anymore in this world. It’s the second premise that bothers me. Someone get me my “energy blow horn” so I can call out to “the universe” and make all my dreams come true!
Hmmmm … I got to thinking about what Christ would say about all of this. Christ does want me to have an abundant life and I know He loves to bless me. But should I be calling out to the “universe” or even God Himself to get what I want? I was reminded of this passage of Scripture:
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” – Romans 8:26-28
I’ve heard many people quote that last verse “All things work together for good to them that love God …” but the quote trails off at the end and we don’t get the basis of why Paul was saying this. So who has “ALL THINGS” work together for good in their life? Those who 1) Love God & 2) Are called according to His purpose. It is easy to love God when we realize how much He loves us. (1 John 4:19) And being called according to His purpose goes back to what Paul was saying at the beginning of his letter to the Roman church.
He starts by saying that we are weak and don’t know how or what to pray for. Who wants to argue with that? ME! I would like to think I know what to pray for. I can ask for things from God all day long. Here is my list God! But I guess I am missing the mark there on really knowing how to pray. God doesn’t just desire to get your list of things you want! He wants an actual relationship with you! Like how you would talk to your friend.
The Truth is I am actually missing my mark on both issues. I don’t always go to Christ in prayer as I would a friend and I don’t REALLY know what I should ask for in prayer. Does anyone really? We may know what we want but we don’t always know what we need.
In order to enjoy any blessing we receive we need to have some responsibility along with it. I heard about a story that was on reality TV where this homeless man was given a car, a house and a job to get back on his feet. It was a dream come true for him. But it turned out to be a nightmare. He lost the car, the house, the job and was further in debt than he had ever been. He came out worse on the other side of his “blessing” … Why? He didn’t know how to handle all of that wealth. I mean, his house was paid for and he took out a Home Equity Line of Credit on it! Ahhh! Sad as it is to say, he ended up living on the streets in the first place for a reason. He wasn’t responsible with his money. He never learned how to have a proper relationship with it. So when it was thrown back into his life after so long without it, he maybe started out okay but he went back into those bad habits.
This story should speak to our lives as well. I have heard people say, “If I just had this much money, I would be able to pay off these debts and live well.” And then I see them get money and their debts aren’t paid. They, like the story, usually get further into debt! Money isn’t the answer to their problem, learning to be responsible with their money is! But they probably wouldn’t think to pray for that. Who would want to? It’s like asking God for patience! Ha! But that is the real thing that they should be praying for.
Okay, let’s look at a non-monetary example. The lonely man wants a partner to make him whole. Let’s assume he uses “The Secret” and calls his dream girl to him. He is still not fulfilled. He cheats on his wife. He loses the woman he loves. We see this actually quite a bit with celebrities: Jesse James, Tiger Woods, Charlie Sheen. They have all had beautiful wives and yet they had some insatiable desire for more and tore their families apart. So what is the real issue? They were looking for someone else to fulfill an area that only Christ was meant to fulfill. These poor wives could never with all their beauty be able to satisfy their husbands. It was because their husbands were incomplete. Unfortunately, even Christians do this. Infidelity is no stranger to the church. So what should these people really pray for? A stronger relationship with God, and to be shown how much Jesus loves them. Personally, that is something I could see myself praying for. But in actuality, I did pray for my soul mate before I realized I should be praying for a deeper relationship with God.
There are other circumstances you can apply this to but these seem to be the main ones. So can we agree that maybe we don’t always know what we should pray for? We think we do but we are usually missing some key aspect that is needed in order for us to be able to enjoy the blessing we receive. We keep praying for the things we want and get mad because God isn’t giving them to us when in reality by Him not giving them to us He is actually protecting us from the circumstances mentioned above, and more! It is a love that parents can understand.
So then, what should we pray for if we don’t know what we need? Let’s look back at what the scripture says …
“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.“
What does he mean when he says that the spirit makes intercession for us? The Holy Spirit living in me prays to God the Father on my behalf. He does this by speaking in tongues. I don’t understand what is being said, my lips just pour forth what is being put inside my heart. It is a Secret to my mind what is being said; it is a Secret Language between my spirit and God’s Spirit! I don’t know about you but I don’t like not knowing what I am pleading with God for. Especially if it’s patience! Haha! But look what it says next:
“And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
That is awesome. God knows the desires of our hearts, and He also knows the mind of His spirit. So He is able to translate those tongues into a Heavenly language to plead for our desires in line with the will of God. Wow! This means that the person in debt will be praying for financial blessing along with the ability to handle it properly. The single person is praying for a soul mate and also praying for their relationship with God and finding fulfillment there.
The best part about praying in tongues is that you know that you are always praying “in the will of God.” You are continually calling yourself “according to HIS purpose!” Finally, there’s the end of that verse:
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
So it is actually kind of a Secret … because you don’t know what you are praying for when you pray in tongues but you can rest assured that whatever you are praying God is going to work it all together for your good!
Born HIS Way 