Day 15: Nagging God
Have you been nagging God for answers instead of asking? Does it matter? Learn the answers to those questions in this short devotion. From the 40 Days of Daily Bread Series.
A little boy went into the den to ask his daddy a question. “Daddy, will you buy me a bike?” The dad replied, “You’ll have to wait and see,” knowing that he had already bought the bike for the boy’s birthday.
Five minutes later the boy came back and asked the same question. The dad gave the same reply. Five minutes later the boy returned and asked again, “Daddy, will you please buy me a bike?” The boy’s father replied, “Wait.”
The moral of the story is two-fold. First, we need to come into God’s presence to hear Him well. Second, youngsters are the ones who ask repeatedly. If you want to mature in God, then you won’t nag Him.
It’s in the Maturity
At first, the Lord answered immediately when I was a young disciple. I thought, this is cake!
Then I noticed that each time I asked God for something specific, the answers came farther apart. Finally I realized that God was showing me how to ask, and then wait for the answer. It was a process of becoming spiritually mature in learning to have faith.
And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15 ESV
No part of that passage says to keep nagging God for the answer. (Or whining, pleading, or begging God for results.)
One day, after waiting a long time I thought God had forgotten about me. I had faithfully asked for weeks to no avail. I learned that you don’t need to keep begging God.
If you ask Him for something that is according to His will, receive it in faith until the manifestation is evident. When you want to ask again, simply thank Him for answering and believe it!
Important Note on Nagging God
** If you continue to push God, or continue to use intercession to manipulate God, you will hear a wrong voice and open the door for deception. This would not apply to praying for things like salvation for someone but asking for direction.
Apply the Word
This section is to help us respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 ESV
Asking and Receiving in Prayer Instead of Nagging God
Write the following in your journal:
- God already knows our needs (Matthew 6:8b) and will supply them (Philippians 4:19).
- Don’t take God for granted, ask Him to move on your behalf (James 4:2d).
- We are not to ask amiss.
- God will give us the desires of our heart if we delight ourselves in Him, but it’s not biblical to lust over worldly things (James 4:3).
- Observe the conditional words of the verses below:
And whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 1 John 3:22 ESV
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15:7 ESV
What have you been asking God for?
Have you been nagging God for answers instead of asking? Does it matter? Learn the answers to those questions in this short devotion. #DailyBread #LiveYielded Click To Tweet
