A Statement Can Sound Good and Be Wicked

A statement that sounds good but is unbiblical.

"The best gift you can give yourself is to spend more time with God."

Why is this statement not of God? Its because it is a self focus. We do not spend time with God for ourselves, we spend time with Him because He deserves to be worshiped, to be asked His desires for us that glorify Him.

Many of the modern mantras we hear that sound spiritual these days have a self focus rather than a focus on God's right and desire to be worshiped and consulted.

1 Chronicles 16:29).
“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness”

Psalm 95:6
“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker”

In the Lord's Prayer given to us by Christ we are told to come to Him in worship first, asking for His will in our lives, asking for our needs to be met, forgiving those who have repented just as He did and to protect us from evil.

When we asked the Lord for forgiveness of our sin, we are then to forgive others who ask for our forgiveness.

Matthew 6:9-13
9 “Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’"

The focus of prayer ought to be to come to Christ in humility and worship of Him. When we do this then He will give us the desires of our heart that are in line with His desires.

Psalm 37:3-5 "…3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.…"

Notice in this passage that God will answer our prayers when we trust in Him, delight in Him and commit our ways to Him. This means that we will not be telling God what we want, we will be asking Him what He wants.