Numbers 24:13 –
‘Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the LORD.’ I told you that I could say only what the LORD says!
Balaam blessed Israel a third time and Balak blew up at him. Here he reminds Balak what he said before coming. Balak only wanted to hear what Balak wanted to hear. He had no desire to heard God’s will only his own. Unfortunately for Balak, Balaam continues with telling him what will happen. I am sure Balak did not want to hear that at all!
How many times have we not liked the answer and just kept going? How many times have we asked God one thing and He appears to do another? How many times have we asked for another to fail only to have him blessed? How many times does this have to happen before you realize God is sovereign? I know I can answer more than 1 for all these questions. How about you?
In everything we do we have power of God behind us, but this power is not our to control, but His. Sometimes we get this false sense of “blessing” or “power” when we are on a string of answered prayers. Suddenly we get the impression that God is listening and we are in control. That’s where we start to blow it and start thinking all request will be granted. God is not our personal genie, but something that cannot be put into words easily.
I think the best approach to this was shown by Jesus at Gethsemane. Here he was about to die and asked God to spare him, but he ended this with “your will be done.” Before we start taking a stance like Balak we should look to Jesus. There is nothing wrong about asking and praying for YOUR will, just always remember it’s God’s that will win in the end. We cannot get mad when God tells us something we don’t want to hear, because “if He says it once, He’ll say it a thousand times!”