Cheeseburger Cheeseburger

1st John 5 lays out some principles for effective prayer:
14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

15 And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.

So, for one thing, we can be confident in approaching God.  Hebrews 4 tells us that we can boldly approach the throne of grace.   But, as we come to God, we need to be sure that we are presenting our requests in an earnest manner, wanting His will to be done - and asking accordingly.   It's a matter of alignment - making sure that our desires line up with His.   In some cases, we may not know exactly what His will is in a specific situation, but we pray for His will to be done.   The Bible teaches that if we ask with incorrect, selfish motives, then we can't expect God to answer our prayers.

In James chapter 4, the writer cautions believers not to use prayer as a tool for selfishness.
2 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.

3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

So, here is a legitimate, incredible resource that God has given to us, that people attempt to use for illegitimate purposes and therefore it's rendered ineffective.

A word to the wise - the 911 emergency number is a wonderful service and is available for anyone, anytime.   But, make sure that you use it in the purpose to which it was intended...

Just last month, a host of police officers, including a SWAT team, showed up at the Los Angeles home of Bruce and Kris Jenner; right the mom of the Kardashians.   The fake 911 caller claimed someone was being assaulted or at least was in danger of physical injury.   This is an incident of what is known as "swatting", or calling 911 and saying that a crime is in progress at someone's home - this is especially becoming more popular concerning celebrites.   Tom Cruise was apparently the object of a "swatting" attempt last month.

These are cases of something that is very good being used in a manner contrary to the way it was intended.

And, then there's my man Gregory Jackson, Jr. - a middle-aged Indiana man who called 911 nine times to order a cheeseburger.   During his first call the emergency operator hung up the phone when he realized that it was a prank call. However, police have explained that he quickly called back saying that he still wanted his cheeseburger.   The operator told Jackson: "Well I asked if you had an emergency. You said no, you needed a cheeseburger. So we don't take cheeseburger orders."

Well, Jackson apparently continued to call and try to place his order. Eventually, the operators asked him for some personal information, police officers were sent out.  It was realized that the man was wanted on other charges - he has reportedly been arrested more a dozen times before in a string of alcohol-related incidents since the 1990s. His other arrests have also been for theft, dealing a controlled substance, and criminal recklessness.    So, Jackson was taken to jail, where he received (drum roll please) a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, not a cheeseburger.

It's a little bit humorous, somewhat disturbing, and sad, all at the same time.   I really don't know what was going through Mr. Jackson's mind, but I think there may be an illustration for us about using something that is a legitimate instrument of assistance for illegitimate purposes.   It's been called, "praying amiss" - and James cautions against it.

So, does it sometimes seem your prayers are hitting the ceiling?   There are a number of reasons, but I believe Scripture teaches that it could very well be that you're asking with wrong motives.   The Bible tells us that if we ask anything according to God's will, He hears us, and we can know that we will receive what we ask.   This is predicated on being aligned with God's will.   If we regard prayer as some kind of cosmic vending machine and approach God selfishly, we cannot expect for Him to give us what we want.   Alignment with God is a critical component of an effective prayer life.