The Dangers of Self-Deception

It is always an amazing sight to observe a man (or woman�s) ability to remain in denial about a situation in their lives. Too often, we refuse to open our eyes to accurately evaluate our situations and take action to correct a problem until it is too late.

Unfortunately, Christians, are too often subject to this fault if we do not actively guard against it. This is the issue that James addressed in the Scripture:

James 1:22- 25
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

When I was a college student, I was the head of the intercessory group for my campus fellowship. I was passionate about prayer, always heading out to the campus chapel with my friends or on my own to pray.
After I left college, I retained my passion for prayer, but my actual time spent in prayer dwindled at times to almost nothing without my noticing. I continued to talk about prayer and I read books on prayer, but without the support of my friends and the environment where young people were passionate about God, I became a hearer only and not a doer.

Needless to say, my spiritual life was lukewarm and I was simply coasting on past spirituality, but I wasn�t moving ahead with God. That wasn�t the worst part of it, though. The worst thing that can happen to a person is to HAVE A PROBLEM AND NOT EVEN KNOW IT! I thought I was still a pretty spiritual person.
The change came for me when one of my pastors told us to record our prayer time for a week in a journal. I had been evaluating my prayer life based on my intentions and desire to pray. However, an audit of my prayer time revealed that I barely prayed two hours each week!

No wonder, I wasn�t moving ahead spiritually. No wonder my life remained the same year after year. No wonder I wasn�t walking in victory. I woke up and realized that even though I attended church and even volunteered, I had made zero progress in my personal relationship with God. I was spinning my wheels, covering the same ground over and over.
Don�t let this happen to you. Why does it seem that so few Christians enter into the fullness of destiny? It�s because we let years whiz by without making real progress in God. Those years turn into decades and those decades turn into a lifetime.
Don�t waste a lifetime. Do not let yourself coast by being a hearer (or thinker) of the Word only. You must DO the Word of prayer to see the results in your heart, character, marriage, finances, ministry and family.

This week, I encourage you to make a note of the time you spend in private prayer. If you prayed fifteen minutes today, write it down. Two hours tomorrow, write it down. At the end of the week, total it up and audit yourself. Do you meet the expectations that you have set? Does the reality of your prayer life match up with the image of your spiritual maturity that you have in your mind?

Remember that we have the Lord�s warning:

Matthew 7:24-27
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, AND DOETH them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, AND DOETH THEM NOT, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

It doesn�t matter how much we attend church and listen to good sermons on prayer. It doesn�t matter how much we talk about prayer. Our house is not on the rock until we DO the word by actually getting in and praying.

If we do not build a lifestyle of prayer by praying, when trials come, our house will be washed away. By the time the storm arrives, it is too late to start working on the foundation.

Knowledge of prayer does not make you prayerful.

Hearing good sermons about prayer does not make you prayerful.

A desire to pray does not make you prayerful.

Talking about prayer does not make you prayerful.

Vowing to pray does not make you prayerful.

Only PRAYING makes you prayerful.

So my friends, take a little time to consider your prayer life today. Remember, this is not an issue for condemnation. It is an issue for creating change by taking action. Not tomorrow or next week, take action today. Do the Word of prayer and you will be blessed in your doing without fail, because God cannot lie.

Grace and Peace to you,

Sade

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Category: Prayer