The Biggest Piece

From: The Word For Today - Bob Gass Ministries

James 4:3 "You do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives."

A major hindrance to answered prayer is - wrong motives! At a birthday party, it came time to serve the cake. A little boy named Brian blurted out, "I want the biggest piece!" His mother scolded him: "Brian, it's not right to ask for the biggest piece." The little boy looked at her in confusion and said, "Well then, how do I get it?" If you have the wrong motives, your prayers won't be answered.

A motive is the why behind the what. In prayer, the reason we pray is much more important than the words we say. Having a pure heart that loves God and loves people is always an acceptable motive to the Lord. Selfishness is unacceptable; revenge is unacceptable; manipulation and control are unacceptable; jealousy is unacceptable; pride is unacceptable. In fact, anything that is selfish is an unacceptable motive.

To pray effectively we must purify our hearts on a regular basis, especially when we find ourselves wanting "the biggest piece". We need to examine our motives. Taking a look at them will be painful, but it must be done if we desire to see our prayers answered.