Five Things A Christian Should Not Pray For -By Joe Dauda

Perhaps nobody taught them but today’s Christians seem focused on the very five things the Bible teaches they are not to focus on. The Christian experience is, ideally, based on a love relationship — love for God manifesting itself as love for human beings and, indeed, love for all of creation. Love for self (self love or extreme selfishness) is antithetical to true Christianity and there is a simple but profound way of testing the state of a Christian’s heart.

Shortly after he was crowned king, wise king Solomon exemplified the correct state of mind a true Christian should  have. When given an opportunity to directly ask God for whatever He wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom to do the will of God. The will of God for his life had already been clearly indicated by his ascension to the throne of Israel in place of his father, David. So the will of God for Solomon at that time of his life was to rule Israel. And Solomon only asked for wisdom to do the will of God — that is, wisdom to rule Israel.

2 Chronicles 1:10
“Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great?”

God was so impressed by Solomon’s request He said the following words, which proves how disappointed He would have been if Solomon had asked for any or all of those five things — the same five things that, unfortunately, excite today’s Christians. Moreover, God added those five things to Solomon, even though Solomon never asked for any of them.

2 Chronicles 1:11-12
“And God said to Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king:
Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like.”

The five things:
Riches, wealth, honour, long life, and the destruction of one’s enemies.

Note that good health is part and parcel of long life.

Much of what we are seeing today as Christianity is false religion. It is based on the pursuit of those five things God mentioned in Second Chronicles. This is an issue of the heart and it is a matter of sequence. If you love a person and then that person becomes a source of benefit to you, there is no problem with that. But if you first notice a person’s wealth or influence and then try to strike a friendship with them because of what you want from them, there is everything wrong with that. The way the gospel is presented these days, God is made to appear as a problem solver for challenges like poor health, poverty, lack of employment, and even a solution to those seeking visas to emigrate to more developed countries. But the main drive for seeking God should be for one’s sins to be forgiven. The most important topic in the gospel, is, thus, repentance. But when was the last time you heard any preacher charging his listeners to repent and be converted?

Some Christians want to be as rich as Elon Musk, as popular as Beyoncé, as influential as the pope of the Roman Catholic Church, as powerful as the President of the United States, and as admired as Ronaldo or Messi. They want this life to resemble paradise as much as their imagination can concoct. And they may have their desire. But, like Eddy Murphy in his seminal movie, Coming to America, Jesus Christ only wants true lovers in His kingdom. And, because He knows our hearts, you can be sure only true lovers will find their way there. False lovers who only want healing and a good life (plus the destruction of their enemies) may be served by the “men of God” identified in Matthew 7:21-23, but they and their “men of God” will never get into the kingdom of God.

Just for the record, it is not a bad thing to have those five things — riches, wealth, honour, long life, and the destruction of one’s enemies — but what is your priority in your vaunted relationship with God?

Some Christians these days pray concerning their enemies and repeatedly scream these word:

DIE BY FIRE!

DIE BY FIRE!!

DIE BY FIRE!!!

And they are not referring to Satan or any of his demons — they are referring to real human beings!

This is either stark ignorance about the religion of Jesus Christ, or a blatant deception. It is either the pastor that teaches this is totally deceived or he himself is a deceiver.

Here is a principle for relating with God in a world where human needs strive for our attention every hour of every day and where enemies tempt us to hate them and wish them evil:

Matthew 6:33
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

By asking for wisdom to do the will of God, wise king Solomon was seeking first the kingdom of God. And see what God added unto him for having his heart in the right place!

We are in the last days and one of the prophecies concerning the last days is that people could be as wicked as Lucifer but they will still hold on to the Christian religion. That is why you see churches filled to the brim today; it is not that there has been a revival. Most perceptive people already know this because, for example, Nigeria is a global leader in today’s brand of Christianity and yet one of the most corrupt nations on earth, with church-going Christians forming a good percentage of the corrupt. This mysterious and sometimes confusing situation was long prophesied.

After listing some sins that will make you think the Bible was trying to describe Satan without mentioning his name (from verse 2 to 4) the Bible says of these same people, in verse 5 of 2 Timothy 3:

“Having a form of godliness: but denying the power thereof:”

God knew that being a Christian will be cool in the last days and He knew that many people will want that Christian badge without wanting the true message of Christ. And that was why the prophecy was written down so children of God living in the last days will not be confused.

Interestingly, other things long prophesied are taking place right before our eyes. To read my past articles on end time prophecy and other topics, please visit Opinion Nigeria and search for Joe Dauda in the search bar.