Some people already know I’ve done a little learning about the NAR (New Apostolic Reformation), word of faith teaching, and the prosperity gospel lately. Most of which center around ultra popular, hyper-charismatic “churches” and individuals such as Bethel, Elevation, Hillsong, Joel Osteen, Oprah Winfrey, etc.. I won’t go into detail about how they are twisting Scripture and such (I strongly recommend checking out Melissa Dougherty on YouTube if you’d like to educate yourself and grow in your walk with Christ [one of my favorite videos about this is posted below]), but I do want to point out something.
These people and many others falsely teach that if you just have faith, if you pray steadfast, not for yourself, but for others, and if you honor God, then you will receive what you are wanting. If you want good health, pray for others’ health. If you want that bigger house, just have faith, pray about it, and you shall receive. You create your reality by being positive. You, you, you. But, friends, how terribly wrong is this! Jesus was persecuted and tortured and has said we, too (if we are genuine Christians), WILL HAVE troubles (John 16:33/ 2 Timothy 3:12/ John 15:20), yet we think we deserve the best? We think just because we ask God for it, He is obligated to fulfill those desires? That makes us God, not Him.
Now, to clarify, yes, He does answer prayer. Yes, we should pray (for sure!). But there are extremes to avoid, and we must pray according to HIS will. Sometimes His answers are NO. But He is still omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. He is still sovereign. He is still the Almighty Father.
You know, I cannot stand the saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I utterly despise it. It isn’t truth. Sometimes the things that don’t kill us can, in fact, make us weaker. Sometimes permanently. But He is our strength, y’all. We have to realize that.
We aren’t all that!
We are but a vapor (James 4:14). A mist that pops up for such a short time in life, then dissipates. But we are created on purpose for a purpose. His purpose. And we must understand that and surrender to Him fully, not expecting anything in return, but denying ourselves and taking up our cross to follow Him (Matthew 16:24-25), whatever persecution, life challenges, and hardships ensue.
References
All Scripture (unless otherwise noted): English Standard Version Bible. 2021. BibleHub.com and English Standard Version Bible. 2016. Crossway
UPDATED May 30, 2022: Dougherty, Melissa. 2022. Word of Faith Pastors Using “Christianized” New Age Teachings. Retrieved May 30, 2022, from https://youtu.be/sxnzwBey5cw