The Motive of Faith + Remaining Vertical With God

The Motive of Faith

By Bayless Conley

When speaking of faith, it is critical to talk about the motive of our faith.  James 4:2-3 tells us what a wrong motive is,


You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.


God is very concerned about the "why" behind our prayers of faith.  He is very interested in the state of our hearts. And I think it is good to check our motives from time to time.


Why do we want what we want? Is it ego driven? Am I asking for it because I want to impress someone?  Are my motives right?


Now, you don't have to overdo it.  You can overanalyze things to the point that you become spiritually frozen and don't do anything.  I think if you will get honest and lay your heart out before God, He will very quickly put the spotlight on the things that should not be there.


Our dog always stands at the back door and scratches on the glass like he really loves us and wants to come in and be with us.  But the moment you open the door he runs right by you into the kitchen looking for food. 


Why do you want the thing you want?  What is the purpose behind asking?  Is it for the glory of God?  Is it to help people?  Is there a pure motive there?


When your motive is right, God will not be long in answering.  But if your motive is not right, God won't answer until it gets right.

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Remaining Vertical With God

TGIF Today God is First, Volume 1, by Os  Hillman

"When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly." 1 Peter 2:23

Have you ever been wrongfully accused? Oh, the need to defend and justify becomes 

so great. "What will people think if they believe these things are true?" we reason. Imagine what Jesus thought as they hurled insults and threats upon Him. The God of the universe had visited planet earth only to be slandered and accused of blasphemy.

Jesus could have done two things in response. He could have used His power to put the people in their place. He could have responded "horizontally." He could have fixed the problem right then. However, He chose to respond in a different way. He chose to "entrust Himself to Him who judges justly." It requires great faith to entrust ourselves to God in the midst of personal assault. However, if we can do this, we will discover a level of grace and wisdom that will be birthed from this experience that we never thought possible. We will discover a freedom in God we never knew before. Whenever we suffer for righteousness without seeking to protect our reputation and rights, we are placing our total faith in the one who can redeem us. This activates God's grace in our lives and enables us to experience God's presence like never before.

Ask God to give you the grace to stay vertical with Him. Avoid the temptation of responding horizontally each time some event comes into your life that you want to "fix." Entrust yourself to the one who judges justly. It may be a divine appointment for your growth to another level in grace.

Today God Is First (TGIF) devotional message, Copyright by Os Hillman, Marketplace Leaders.

Today's Prayer 

Lord, I'm reminded today of that old hymn "When We Walk with the Lord." It says "what You say, we will do, where You send we will go; never fear, only trust and obey." Help my condition, Lord, that I will not fear, but that will walk with You all the days of my life and have faith to always trust and obey, and leave the outcome to You. In Your name I pray. Amen.

TRUST AND OBEY - HILLSONG KIDS