Dear Manna Family, How many of us pray because we want God to change something? Sometimes, God says yes, sometimes He says no, and sometimes He says wait. Sometimes God says no because we pray with wrong motives. James 4: 2b You do not have because you do not ask. Vs 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. An example of someone who made a selfish request of Jesus is a woman named Salome, and part of her story is told Matthew 20: 20-23. Jesus and his disciples were traveling from the area near Jericho up to Jerusalem where Jesus would soon be crucified. HIs aunt Salome came up to him with her two sons James and John. James and John were Jesus’ cousins, and since there was a family connection, Salome thought she would get an inside track for her two sons. Listen to her request. Matthew 20: 20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. Vs 21 And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left.” Vs 22 But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink” They said to Him, “We are able.” Vs 23 He said to them, “My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.” Vs 24 And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. In the coming kingdom, Jesus will sit on His throne ruling over all. Salome wanted her two sons to have the highest honor of sitting closest to the throne. She wanted her two sons to be exalted over the rest of the disciples. The other ten disciples became angry because they wanted that honor as well. Now, in fact, someone will sit closest to God’s throne, but that is God’s choice, not ours. Jesus told them, “You do not know what you are asking.” That’s so often true of us as well. We ask God for things that from our earthly point of view make perfect sense. However, God knows how our request fits into His infinitely wise plan. We are like little children who see a bright shiny object and ask to play with it, not realizing that it’s a sharp butcher knife that can harm us. Salome’s request was selfish, pure and simple, and James and John were in on it as well. But Jesus didn’t just say “No.” He asked them if they knew that the cost of following Him involved death. James and John didn’t know what they didn’t know, and so they confidently said, ‘We are able to drink the cup You will drink.’ In fact, they did. James was beheaded for his faith, and tradition says that John was boiled in oil for his faith. He survived and was exiled to the island of Patmos where he wrote the book of Revelation. Drinking the cup that Jesus drank referred to His coming death on the cross. Those who want to follow Jesus will experience what He experienced. Jesus followed the will of His Father even to the point of death. In the same way, those of us who follow Jesus must die to our own selfish desires, and follow Jesus wherever He leads. Prayer is people on earth communicating with God who is in heaven. The purpose of prayer is not to persuade God to do what we want. Prayer doesn’t move God into alignment with our plans. Prayer moves us into alignment with God’s plans. Prayer is God centered, not me centered. It’s comforting to know that even when we ask with wrong motives, our heavenly Father will never give us anything except what is best. So when God says “No” to a prayer request, that’s an act of love. Our heavenly Father really does know what’s best! That’s why Jesus ended His prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane with the words, “Your will be done.” Remember, God designed us to “do life together!” Love and prayers, Brad ••• Subscribe to listen each week as the Manna class learns and grows together through their in-depth study of God's Word. This comprehensive, expository series is taught by Brad Hannink, a gifted communicator of the Bread of Life. Manna is a Bible study life group that meets at Valley Baptist Church, located at 4800 Fruitvale Ave. in Bakersfield, California. Manna believes in doing life together. If you’re in need of prayer, email us your request at mannabiblepodcast@gmail.com and our class will be happy to add it to our prayer list. Members of Manna get together each week to pray for those on the prayer list. For more information, visit mannapodcast.com. ©2018, 2019, 2020, & 2021 - Brad Hannink - All Rights Reserved