John 14:13-14 … Attaining real Prosperity – Getting prayers Answered (11-11-15)
Joel Osteen and Kenneth Copeland and Joyce Meyer are a few of the leaders in a popular religious movement many call “The Prosperity Gospel” — the belief that if you sacrifice for God (preferably in the form of irresponsibly large monetary tithes given to these same “prophets of profit”) that God will eventually bless you in return with far greater material abundance & far deeper emotional comfort. Of course, what happens in almost all cases is these false friars end up getting perversely wealthy while those poor folks who support their gargantuan greed and finance their obscene opulence end up suffering greatly … It really is enough to make any decent & moral person’s blood boil.
Well, in order to do my small part in seeing that this particular injustice is ultimately destroyed, I thought I would shed some light upon a few of the more common Biblical deceptions used by these “warlocks of wealth” … and I’ll start with the Gospel of John.
One of the favorite passages these “denizens of the dollar” like to use to prove their point is found in John 14:13-14, where Jesus says “I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it” … Now on its face, I must admit that these two verses do indeed seem to promise a straight up, tit-for-tat system of rewarding those who invest in the church, AND YET what Mr. Osteen & Mr. Copeland & Ms. Meyer forget to tell us is that Jesus is NOT telling us here that we will receive anything & everything we ask for (Jesus was, after all, NOT a fan of material wealth AT ALL — see Matthew 19:21-24), but rather only what we ask for “IN HIS NAME” — namely, in JESUS’ name — namely, in the name he was originally given — namely, in a way that harmonizes with the MEANING of that name … And in the beginning, his name was said to have been “Emmanuel” (Matthew 1:23); a name that meant “God is with us” — or, as Jesus himself would have said “God is withIN us” (Luke 17:20-21 + John 14:20).
As such, at least according to Jesus Christ, it is not the prayer where we ask for individual reward or personal comfort that will be answered and fulfilled, but rather the prayer that asks that we become of a beacon of Love for those who are in fear, the prayer that asks that we become a source of Peace for those who are in distress, or the prayer that asks that we become a foundation of Courage for those who are abused &/or in pain.
In essence, our prayers will only be answered — and they will ALWAYS be answered — when we pray to be of service to those in need … And the greatest reward we could ever hope for will ALWAYS be showered upon us — FROM WITHIN — when we act accordingly thereafter.
Amen … Let it be so.
“Men talk about the Bible and God and meaning and miracles solely because there are no miracles and there is little meaning in their lives. Cease to gnaw on that crust, my Friends. There is ripe fruit over your heads, and fresh bread always nearby.” ~ inspired by Henry David Thoreau
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