One of my daughters in the Lord came to me with a concern. She said; “Sir, a higher position is about to be opened in my office, I feel I might be asked to fill it but I’m not prepared. What can I do?” I told her; “Get yourself ready before it comes.” Fortunately, by the time the offer came, she was ready. She got it.
Friend, God does not give you what you pray for, He gives you what you are ready for. While you are waiting for God, He is actually the one waiting for you. Once you are ready, God is ready. It is true that God has prepared great things for you, it is also true that He wants you to prepare for what He has prepared for you (1 Corinthians 2:9, Galatians 4:1-2).
God’s business is to prepare stuff for you, your business is to prepare for what He has prepared for you. One of the purposes of prayers is to prepare and align us with what God has in store for us. Prayer may not change all things for you, it would sure change you for all things. Rather than asking God to give us, we should pray that God should make us (Luke 15:12,19).
A lot of prayer meetings are filled with people asking God to give them things; it looks like we are trying to twist the hands of God to release things or that we are ‘wrestling’ with an unwilling God (James 4:1-3). The place of prayers should be a place of revelation and preparation. We see into God’s plan for our lives and we get on board the necessary preparations necessary to birth it.
God is not a waster of His resources. He often takes time to prepare us to handle what He’s bringing. For the prodigal son in Luke 15, he was never made into someone who could handle stuff so he became a waster (Luke 15:13). This is what happens when you promote what God gives above the making process; you end up wasting the substance of your destiny.
People end up wasting graces, gifting and opportunities. Some end up wasting their spouses and marriages. Others waste the precious lives committed unto them. Some people even end up destroying their own very lives; they waste both the wine and the wineskin, because they would not allow God to make them into people who can handle what they are asking for (Matthew 9:17).
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria