DOING BUSINESS WITH GOD

[Albert Finch]

As Believers who are seeking to advance His Kingdom we have the right and privilege to do business with God.

Why does He need us to do business with Him?

1. God has given mankind dominion over the earth. Therefore, we have the authority to release Him to work when we pray. God has never violated the free will that He gave humankind. And He has given dominion over the earth to men and women.

Psalm 8:4-8 says: "What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen—even the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea that pass through the paths of the seas."

God does not violate authority. He sits above it, and He judges men when they abuse the authority given to them; and His hierarchy of authority is not the same as we often think it is. (For instance, prayers carry higher authority than leaders' decisions, and so God can turn the hearts of leaders in response to prayer.) However, He does not violate the authority He has given us. To do so would be a violation of our free will. Understanding how Kingdom authority works is absolutely essential if you want to walk in the supernatural.

2. Why authority and dominion matter in our prayer closets: It matters because God has given dominion over the earth to men. Therefore, if we want Him to move on the earth, we must ask. History is full of stories of God moving when there was prayer. If we want God to move, we must pray.

PRAYER OPENS DOORS AND PROVIDES A WAY WHERE THERE SEEMS TO BE NO WAY

Father is so serious about our prayer assignment that He actually gave us the Helper to help us pray! The Holy Spirit of grace and supplication has several specific jobs, but one of them is to move through us in prayer. Romans 8:26-27 says: "Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the Saints according to the will of God."

Even Jesus came as a baby in response to prayer and intercession. God had told us that it was His will to send the Messiah, and dedicated lovers of God prayed for the Deliverer to come for many years. We have dominion over the earth. If we desire to see God move on the earth, we must pray.

3. God has always desired to converse and even reason with mankind. God desires the best for us now. Even if some things are stored up for the future, they can be pulled into the present by the prayer of faith.

PULL ON GOD THROUGH FAITH-FILLED PRAYERS

Then remember Moses, who interceded before God for the lives of the children of Israel. It was God's plan to wipe them out and raise up a new nation from the offspring of Moses. But Moses reasoned with God, and He changed His mind.

God's reasoning is the kind of reasoning that God encourages us to logically present His Word back to Him in prayer. Psalm 138:1-3, "I will praise You with my whole heart; before the gods I will sing praises to You. I will worship toward Your holy temple, and praise Your name for Your loving-kindness and Your truth; for You have magnified Your Word above all Your name. In the day when I cried out, You answered me, and made me bold with strength in my soul."

When we reason with God His way, we search out the deep things of His Word to discover His will for our lives individually and for the whole earth. Then, we go boldly before God's throne of grace as the kings over the earth that we are. From that position, we are to present our requests to Him with prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving—based on His own Word. When we pray God's own Word back to Him, we have assurance that we will receive whatever we request.

1 John 5:14-15 tells us this: "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."

So doing business with God means presenting His own will back to Him. It's always His will to establish and expand His Kingdom of righteousness, peace, joy, and power on the earth and in your life personally. It's always His will for you to ask—YES, FOR YOURSELF—for Jesus said: "Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full" (John 16:24).

QUESTIONS TO ASK MYSELF:
How will I respond?

Will I set yourself apart to seek Him morning, noon, and night?

Will I go boldly before His throne of grace, praying specific prayers and expecting specific answers?

Will I accept the challenge to do business with God on purpose?

ALBERT FINCH MINISTRY
http://afministry.ning.com/