BUILT IN OBSOLESCENCE

If you have a business or marketing College degree you might have learned about “Product Obsolescence”. Wikipedia defines it this way, “Sometimes marketers deliberately introduce obsolescence into their product strategy, with the objective of generating long-term sales volume by reducing the time between repeat purchases. One example might be producing an appliance which is deliberately designed to wear out within five years of its purchase, pushing consumers to replace it within five years.” As an everyday shopper you may have learned about product obsolescence by buying an appliance or electronic device to find out that it didn’t work after two years. Sometimes you hear products being referred to as having a shelf life of two years for example. In other words the manufacturers are not planning to have that item around in two years, either because they know it will die by then or they will replace it with something else. Product obsolescence is great for the business world, it keeps them in business. They can design new things and put them in the stores knowing that you will have to come back and buy again shortly, because the product you already bought for them will be broken, incompatible, or out of date within a time period they planned for it to be of no use to anyone.

Did you know that many Christians create their own “Prayer Obsolescence”? We communicate with God in such a way through our prayers that we make our prayers of not much good. They may not get very far. Sure He will hear our prayer, but it may be a prayer that isn’t much good. Now you are asking yourself, “How can a prayer not be very good?” Well, there are several flaws built in to many of our prayers. We make many of our prayer requests self-centered. We almost take God out of the equation. For example, when we are sick we say something like, “Please help me to be well.” There is nothing wrong with what we are asking, but we have built in a form of obsolescence. We put ourselves at the center of the request, instead of God. In other words, we should have asked God a request that would have put him in the center. We should say something like, “God heal me.” This prayer request is acknowledging that God is the one who heals. He doesn’t need to help us heal ourselves. Another example would be, “God help me to not get in any car accidents today.” A better way to ask that would put God in the center would be, “God protect me from car accidents today.” It is a fine line, but the main objective in our prayers would be to put God as the one in control and the one capable of accomplishing the request. We are not the ones who can accomplish the task. God is. This is what will glorify God. Recognizing that He is the one that is powerful and capable, not ourselves. We are not asking God to help us do something, instead we are asking God to do it.

Another way that we build in obsolescence in to our prayers is through our lack of faith and fears. Most of the time we don’t even know that we have taken that stance in our prayer requests. We say things like, “God, please heal Sally, if it be your will.” True, nothing will come to pass if it is not His Will, but most of the time we are really saying that as an escape clause. It is almost as if we are not really sure that God can heal Sally or that He will do it in a timely manner as to make it seem He had answered our specific prayer request. We want a way out. We don’t want to make God look bad or our prayers to look ineffective. So we build in the “if it is Your Will” statement in to our requests. That way if the prayer isn’t answered immediately or if it is answered with a “No” then we we feel better. Our prayers should really be built with complete faith in the all-powerful God who created everything and loved us so much that He sent His only Son to die for us, so we could be with Him forever. If God would do all that for us, and created everything there is, then why would we doubt what He is capable of. As Christians we need to start praying like we really believe what we believe. We need to pray prayers that focus on God’s many wonderful characteristics, power and abilities. We need to pray with faith, “God heal Sally”. Then we need to have faith and wait. Then we need to be able accept God’s answer. Whether it be, “Yes, Johnny, I am going to heal Sally.” or “No, Johnny, I am not going to heal Sally at this time.” We need to remember that loves us so much that He is only going to give us the best answers to our prayers. We are no where near as intelligent or wise or all-knowing as God. He knows without a doubt what is best and will provide the best for His children. We can’t even do that for our own kids, but we have a Heavenly Father who can do that for us. How wonderful!

Have the faith and believe in the power of God. Don’t doubt. Remember Mark 11:24 “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Just make confident prayer requests with God at the center and you will remove product obsolescence from your prayers. To help change your prayer habits that you have established and to see if you are building obsolescence in to your prayers, take time to go to God in prayer and write down everything you are saying to Him. Then go back and take a look at what you wrote down. How many I’s or me’s are in your requests? Were you always asking God to help you accomplish something or were you actually allowing God to accomplish the task? Did you have complete faith and confidence in what you were asking or were you building in escape routes for you and God? Really be serious about this activity. Your eyes will be opened. Now go back and take some of those requests and re-word them with confidence, faith and God-centeredness. Then next you will be amazed. Remember to pay attention and see how God begins to answer your prayers after that. Even beyond seeing a difference in how your prayers might be answered, you will begin to see your faith grow even more. You will come to new understandings of God and your faith will become even stronger.

First Southern Baptist Church of Coalinga

http://firstsouthernbaptistofcoalinga.wordpress.com/