Solomon Survey:Righteousness & Perception

I want to close the Solomon Survey by focusing in on 4 stumbling blocks that could be causing our Prayers to go unanswered. These areas are important to look at because these are the verses no one wants to talk about, but if we are living a life of unanswered Prayers, it is imperative that we become like Sherlock Holmes and investigate what it is that God wants us to know during "dry" seasons of our lives...


So today I want to bring up two topics: Righteousness and Perception

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

~ James 5.16 ~ (emphasis added).

Righteousness & Perception, How Do I Know?

Being righteous simply means being right with God. We all know areas of unrighteousness like lying, stealing, being unethical etc. But I want to hit these 2 areas that are hardly ever discussed. So If our prayers are going unanswered, we must ask ourselves a few questions.

1. Are we confessing our sins?
Proverb 28.13-14 tells us we will be failures if we do not confess our sins.

2. Are we cruel and cutting people down that we see in public or on tv?
Proverb 28.13-14 also tells us that if we are cruel, then we will end up in trouble.

Now, here is The good news. This same passage, Proverb 28.13-14 , also shows us that God is merciful and will bless us IF we confess and are afraid to do evil...

3. Do We have a Perception Problem?
Perception is so important to answered Prayer...As Steven Furtick says,"We receive what we perceive." And what is it that we want from answered Prayers? We want to receive an answer! Wow, that's deep!

Anyway, I can not get out of my mind that we may not be receiving answered Prayers because of how we perceive ourselves and how we perceive others. Have you ever asked the following question, "God, why are you turning your back on me?"

Well, the problem could be that God is asking you and me, "Why are you speaking evil words to those I have created?"...You see if we perceive the worst in people and constantly criticize them while we are watching the tube or out in public, even if it is under our breath, than God will turn His back on us...don't take my word for it...read what God has to say about it:

Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, Here's what you do: Say nothing evil or hurtful; Snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you're worth. God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to what he's asked; But he turns his back on those who do evil things. ~ 1 Peter 3.8-12 ~

God's Step-by-Step Manual
We say we always want God to speak to us, to answer our Prayers. 1 Peter 3.8-12 could not be any clearer. It's like a step-by-step instruction manual straight from The Mouth of God...

* "Whoever Wants"..."Here's what you do"...."say"...."snub"..."cultivate"...."run"...it tells us what God approves of, how He listens, how He REPSONDS TO WHAT HE IS ASKED...But because God is a God of both Grace and Truth, we see that yes, He will turn His back on those who do evil things...and He clearly tells us that saying "evil or hurtful" things are evil.

Warm and Fuzzy
Now don't get me wrong...this is not some warm and fuzzy post on accepting everybody and let's all get along so that no one is offended in our politcally correct society. NO! I despise politcal correctness with my heart and soul!!! But what I despise worse are Christians (myself included) who look at the The Carpenter of Creation's Craftmanship and say evil and hurtful things for no apparent reason other than to make themselves feel better about their own faults and weaknesses.

Practical Atheism
If we claim to be Christian but then do not live the Righteous life God calls us to, if we criticize instead of praise, if we say we believe in God but live as though He does not exist, then we are what Craig Groeschel calls, "Practical Atheist"...

Revelation 3.16 tells us we can not be lukewarm Christians...we are either in or we are out...

So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—

I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Bottom Line
Look, we must perceive ourselves and others as God perceives us. If we perceive others in a hateful way, it is probably because we are uncomfortable in our own skin. It is time to grow up and get rid of our insecurities. Our insecurities are selfish because we are trying to gain our security-in-ourselves in stead of being Secure-In-God...

Unanswered Prayer...are we righteous? do we have a perception problem?

Let's stop blaming God and start investigating ourselves....