God Comes First

Prosperity churches basically teach us to become selfish. Satan knows our weakness; I believe far better than we do. He knows how to use the Bible verses to his advantage.

God does say the more we give the more we will receive. But you have to read the whole Bible and get the picture of who God is and what He is all about. The commandment that God has given us explains we must put God first above everything else in our lives. We are told to love Him with our all and then we are also told to love our neighbor as ourselves. So, when we give, we are coming from a place of love for God and mankind. That's when God opens His hand and gives. And it might not be straight away either.

When I was 8 years old, it dawned on me very powerfully that Gods commandment was to love Him above everything, including my parents, that I burst into tears. I told God, “How can I love you that way when I can't see you.” I threw myself on the bed crying hard and I now know it was the Holy Spirit asking me a question, “Will you?” I thought it was me asking that question to myself and I replied I will, but I don't know how.

Straight away, it was like God pressed a button on my brain and I then felt God's presence in a most beautiful and powerful way. So much so, for years after I only had to hear the word God and tears of love and joy would roll down my face. And they weren't little tears either. The memory of that day was so vivid. I really couldn't do any thing but praise Him. About four years later God took the vividness of the memory away. The best way to describe the vividness of the memory is to use a poor example of wine. When we drink a glass of wine or two or three, we will still feel the effects of that wine well after we have drunk it. I call it a living memory and when God takes that memory away it just becomes an ordinary memory that we remember ordinary day to day things by.

I was asked once, Why does God give you a run of experiencing His presence and then nothing for years and then He gives you another run of it,” and so on. All I could say is I suppose He shows us things and then He expects us to live by faith.

If you are having trouble loving God above everything and you too are asking, “How do I love a God I don't know,” the only thing I know to say is that when you pray with all your heart in real earnest and keep it up, you will sooner or later experience Him. Loving Him then is the easiest thing in the world to do. Some people’s prayers are answered straight away, and others have to keep begging Him. God doesn't love you less if He is making you beg for it longer. He has a perfect plan, and He knows how to make you really yearn for Him with your all and when you do that, that's when it happens.