THE FORMULA

 

Every once in a while, I like to approach pastors or religious folk with a problem, just to hear the response and advice I’ll get from them. I like to know the depth of their knowledge and spiritual intellect. About 9 times out of 10, I am given a formula for getting out of my problem.

They always sound like this:

If you want God to move in this situation, you should fast for 3 days, repent, pray every 4 hours until He responds.

Or

Find out if there are any witches in your family, then pray at midnight every day for an hour to bind and cast down all that witchcraft in your blood

The strangest advice I was given was about a certain guy I was dating. This pastor told me that if I want this young man to marry me, I must buy one bottle of his anointing oil, then every night use cotton wool to apply that anointing oil to my lady parts, while repeatedly mentioning the guys’ name.

YES, THAT BIT OF BLACK MAGIC CAME FROM A PASTOR.

Here’s the thing though; God does not have a formula for anything. Sure, He gave us the Lords’ Prayer as an example of how to pray, but He never said that if you repeat this prayer every night, He will perform miracles for you.

In the Bible, you’ll find that problems were dealt with in new ways. Joshua was told the he and his people should march around the walls of Jericho 7 times, then they would fall.

David also had a giant to slay, but he wasn’t told to march around Goliath 7 times, was he? 

We tend to think that what worked for my friend will work for me too. That’s not how this works! That’s not how God works. He has different ways of dealing with everyone. There is no formula for getting anything from God. The fact that pastor so and so says he claimed a certain promise from the Bible and he was given a brand new car by one of his church members does not mean that if you too go ahead and claim that promise, someone will come and give you a car.

I am disturbed by the number of people I see trying to figure God out and narrow Him down to a formula that works, one-size fits all. God cannot be put in a box, narrowed down, limited to a formula.  He sees everything in every way that He will not grant desires just because you have asked for them the way sister so and so asked for them.

I’ve always said that with God, it is all about relationship.  Memorizing Bible verses will not help you at all if you never take the time to actually talk to God, read the Bible and get to know and understand His ways and His character.