REASONS PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED AND SACRIFICES NOT HONOURED (1)

Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines…
– Song of Solomon 2:15

Truly, the Bible says, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). However, we all know that this is not always the case. There are many times we might have fervently asked, sought, and knocked at the door of God or man for one thing or the other without being granted.

For the next few days, we will be looking at reasons some of our prayers and services to God are neither answered nor rewarded:

1. IGNORANCE

The first reason some of our prayers are not answered is because of our ignorance. The LORD says in Hosea 4:6a that ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge’. While most of us know this scripture very well and quote it quite often in our discourse, we nonetheless fall victim to its veracity. It is amazing to see the zest with which we go all out to seek something, and then how we truncate our own efforts or chances of getting it by our actions or inactions, done in ignorance. There are two ways ignorance robs us of rewards and answered prayers.

a) Self-sabotage: Oftentimes, we are diligent in our supplications to God about something and even do all we could to ensure that we get our heart’s desire. But little carelessness in a seemingly unrelated or unimportant matter may foil our chances of getting what we have long sought the face of God for. A wrong thought, a wrong statement, a wrong action, or a wrong indulgence entertained when it did not seem to matter can prevent our much sought-after blessing from being delivered to us.

We all know that the earth is spherical in shape. However, what is not general knowledge is the fact that life itself is cyclical. What this means is that even as the earth orbits or goes round and round, so do our thoughts, words and actions revolve around the ultimate entity that is our being. Therefore, there is nothing like “it does not matter”, “it does not affect…”, “it does not relate to…” or “it is not important to…” in the cycle of life. Every single thought, word, and action impacts on our state of being at any point in time.

Nurturing evil thoughts and intentions towards someone, saying the wrong thing to or about someone, or doing wrong to someone may not seem to be connected to what we are seeking the face of God (or man) for, but the truth is they in fact affect it and may be the reason we do not get our desire at times.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Purpose: Sent to Save Sinners

We probably have considered this all-important purpose of Jesus in one of the previous editions of our Purpose series. It is one purpose that cannot be overemphasised, as the understanding of it is at the core of our wellbeing and optimal manifestation. It is true that Jesus came to the world primarily to save all sinners. The apostle affirms that it is not just true, but is a faithful saying that is worthy of acceptance by everyone.

Sin became the second nature of humans after the fall in the Garden of Eden, while subsequent activities and descendants of man were all enmeshed in sin and marked with imperfection. Eventually God decided it was enough seeing humans operating in the fallen state – deprived, denied and reduced on account of sin. So there was need to upgrade humans from the level of sin to the heights of glory where communing with God and functioning on earth would be with ease, as God intended it to be in the beginning.

To achieve that, certain things must be done: there must be a judgement, there must be suffering and there must be death as representations of what each individual would need to experience in his/her individual capacity as a sinful soul. But, instead of handing over humans to be punished as deserved, God decided to send His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world so He could stand in the gap for humans and take the judgement, the suffering and the death due to everyone; thus nullifying the power of condemnation over us and positioning Himself as the propitiation for our sins.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Understanding Purpose (7)

…walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.
– Ephesians 4:1

We are still considering calling as a second type of purpose.

We usually miss out on God’s intentions for our various callings by putting our personal agenda first. Remember purpose is others-centred; it is always devoid of selfish interests. So, when we allow our activities in any of our callings to be dictated by thoughts of personal gains, we neglect our purpose and fail to fulfil the mission for which God located us there.

A man who relates with his wife based on his own wants and desires is falling short in his calling as a husband, and vice versa. A worker who premises her performance at work majorly on what she can make for herself, apart from failing God, would not get to live up to her full potential. A member of a church, community or other forms of association who hinges his commitment on what he can gain from there is abusing his calling. A leader who puts selfish interests before that of the people she is leading is negligent of purpose. The truth is, every calling you answer is not just for the title alone, but for the mission you are meant to perform in that calling. That is why the Bible says, “whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men” (Colossians 3:23).

It takes a measure of God-consciousness to fulfil your mission, because you can’t be conscious of God and not be mindful of people and your environment. And the more mindful you become of people and your environment, the easier it is to identify their needs or what is lacking in that place, until you are filled enough to be able to meet such needs or provide what is lacking.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Understanding Purpose (6)

…walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.
– Ephesians 4:1

The second category of purpose is situational. It is both general and specific. General in the sense that it is applicable in many settings; specific because the manner you fulfil it in one place may not be the same way you will achieve it in another.

This is the kind of purpose that relates to specific callings. We all have multiple callings with attendant roles in different contexts: as husband, wife, parent, child, student, leader, worker, member of a community, citizen of a country, member of a church, politician, and so on. These are all callings with different roles attached to them. And, in performing such roles, you are either fulfilling purpose or neglecting it.

God does not make mistakes. And nothing happens without His knowledge; His cActs 15:18). Nothing catches God by surprise; absolutely nothing.

ontrivance, in the event such happening is from Him; or His permission where such is an act of the devil. “Known to God from eternity are all His works” (

So, wherever you find yourself, God knew even before you were born that you would be there. He knew you were going to marry that man/woman; He was also in the know about the identity of your child, parents, or siblings. He knows you are where you presently work or worship. He positions you in places for a reason – so that you could execute a specific mission there.

Let’s use the instance of where you work; God put you there for a reason greater than your job description or pay cheque. He put you there for a noble reason, to add value to the firm and make a difference in the lives of fellow humans such as your co-workers and/or outsiders whom you meet in the course of your work.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Understanding Purpose (5)

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
– Revelation 4:11

Generally, purpose can be explained in a threefold sense, namely the universal purpose, situational mission and individual assignment.

The universal purpose is that which is applicable to every human, irrespective of race, colour, societal status, exposure, education, vocation and so forth. The universal purpose of all humans is to worship and honour God. That is non-negotiable; it is the general duty of man, atheist or non-atheist. There is no differentiation in this particular mandate, although the way each individual goes about doing it could be different from person to person.

God created humans firstly for fellowship. Whilst the word fellowship may be considered in a loose term as a relationship between equals; however, in the equation of God and man, there is no equal. God is greater than the biggest, the richest, and the most powerful of men, since He created every one. And He created all for His own pleasure. By configuration, there is a void in every human that can only be filled by the Supernatural. People who don’t know the true God seek to fill theirs by worshipping non-God elements.

Discovering the universal purpose of worship is not far-fetched either, and does not require elaborate self-examination. It is inborn. Man will essentially worship something. Now, in the right context, worship is beyond what is done in church or other spiritual gatherings, although that is an important part of it. Worship is all-encompassing and covers all aspects of life, including the way you live, the way you work, the way you do things, and the way you conduct yourself generally. That is why the Bible says, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). Glorifying God is the first purpose of humankind.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Understanding Purpose (4)

I applied my heart to know, to search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things…
– Ecclesiastes 7:25

Still in continuation of our meditation on purpose, let us further consider some sublime thoughts on purpose and related matters from James Allen’s classic, As A Man Thinketh:

– Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being, if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul.

– Man is buffeted by circumstances as long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions, but when he realizes that he is a creative power, and that he may command the hidden soil and seeds of his being; he then becomes the rightful master of himself.

– Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.

– Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent achievement.

– Aimlessness is a vice.

– They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears, and self-pityings…which lead…to failure, unhappiness, and loss.

– To put away aimlessness and weakness and to begin to think with purpose is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment. Who make all conditions serve them, and who think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully.

– Purpose, energy, power to do, and all strong thoughts cease when doubt and fear creep in.

– He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure.

– Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes a creative force. He who knows this is ready to become something higher and stronger…He who does this has become the conscious and intelligent wielder of his mental powers.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Understanding Purpose (3)

I applied my heart to know, to search and seek out wisdom and the reason of things…
– Ecclesiastes 7:25

We are still considering some pertinent factors about purpose:

8. It takes an accountability system to live and fulfil it: purpose blossoms when anchored on an accountability system. Having someone in your life who holds you accountable for your daily activities and pursuits would help you to stay on course in the fulfilment of your assignment.

9. It will give you a sense of fulfilment: the greatest fulfilment you can get is in knowing that you are making a difference as well as fulfilling your life purpose.

10. It helps you to identify your destiny partners: purpose is the best metric through which you can ascertain whom to marry, whom to be friendly with, whom to go into business with, whom to hire as workers, whom to submit to, and so on. As the Bible says, two persons cannot walk together except they agree. Knowing your purpose helps you to identify who is compatible with you, and who is not.

11. It is in the Word of God: your purpose is not far-fetched. It can be found in the Holy Bible, God’s manual for life. Any proclaimed purpose that has no root in the Bible is mere personal agenda.

12. It takes God and His resources to fulfil it: there is no fulfilling your purpose outside the help and provision of God. Any purpose that you can conveniently afford to execute with your own resources is probably not big enough.

13. Your success is hinged on fulfilling it: to God, the fulfilment of your purpose is the real indicator of your success, not your bank account, asset, or networks.

14. It guides you to make the right choices and decisions in life: purpose is the best benchmark by which you could make choices and decisions.

15. It has been in you all along: your purpose is already wired into your DNA, merely awaiting discovery. It is not something you have to travel anywhere to discover. It is within you and it is crystallised in the Bible for your identification.

16. You might have been fulfilling it without knowing: you might have been fulfilling your purpose one way or the other, but without giving a name to it or knowing that is what you are doing.

17. You can make a career out of it: happy is the man or woman whose purpose synchs with his/her professional career or business. Your purpose can be the core of your professional pursuits, business or other commercial endeavours.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!