The Book of Ecclesiastes states there’s nothing recent under the sun, and lots of heresies, sins, false doctrines, and lies get recycled. New age spiritualism is commonly a mixture of bits and pieces of other religions and spiritual practices smashed together.
Manifestation has been gaining in popularity, promising people they will bring into their lives whatever they need in an effort to create their absolute best life, hurt people they don’t like, and increase their material wealth. It is an appealing idea, and one which some people claiming to be Christians have promoted. But additionally it is a deception.
Manifestation, the act of willing one’s desires into reality, isn’t present in the Bible, potentially taps into the realm of the demonic, and ultimately allows someone to set themselves up as their very own god.
What Does “Manifest” Mean?
From witchcraft, to voodoo, to meditation and chanting, various faiths and non secular practices have promised practitioners that through their very own actions or force of will, they will bring what they need into reality. Some require exchange of some sort, but manifestation because it has develop into popular within the twenty first century is an exercise of will.
Essentially, in recent age spirituality, manifestation is the practice of creating one’s desires a reality by practicing focus, affirmation, and clear pondering. Sometimes energy channeling through a medium resembling crystals can also be involved. Generally, practitioners of this variety of manifestation discover as spiritual, but it surely is commonly put into the framework of other religions to make it appealing to a big selection of individuals.
Practitioners claim a wide range of things may be manifested including:
– Money
– Love
– Power
– Good things for other people
– Bad things for other people
– Desired physical objects (a automobile, a house, etc)
– Jobs
Manifestation asserts that somebody can bend the universe around them to their will. It is essential to notice they don’t assert that one should set a goal for something after which work for it, or ask for something from a deity and have faith it is going to be answered within the affirmative. The person with the ability to make something occur is the person, and it is thru thought and can, not labor or gifting.
Can We Manifest Things by Believing in Them?
Biblically and scientifically speaking, there’s nothing to suggest that human beings have the flexibility to manifest anything. The ability to make things occur on the earth through sheer force of will has no scientific backing. It can also be not seen as something done within the Bible, or hinted at within the Bible.
What is addressed within the Bible is witchcraft. In witchcraft, someone gives an exchange for something to occur in a supernatural way. Manifestation is analogous, except there is no such thing as a expectation of exchange and it’s the ability of the person who brings on the specified change. While they’re different, witchcraft and manifestation are the same sort of sin, wherein one is setting themselves within the place of God by attempting to usurp God’s will and power. The reason the Bible says, “For revolt is because the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Samuel 15:23a) is because the foundation of revolt against God and witchcraft is the will to exercise one’s will over God’s will.
In the Bible, God makes it clear that He desires to deal with His children, to bless them, and to offer for his or her needs. He also is evident that He knows what’s best for somebody, and that sometimes He says no because a request or desire is out of His will, and never in one of the best interest of the person. Instead, the Apostle Peter wrote, “Humble yourselves, due to this fact, under the mighty hand of God in order that at the correct time he may exalt you,” (1 Peter 5:6). When someone decides to start manifesting, they’re putting their faith in themselves, relatively than God, in defiance of what He might want for them.
There could also be individuals who can claim that manifestation worked for them. From a Biblical standpoint, there are couple of explanations for why someone engaging on this practice could also be getting what they need. First, they could possibly be faking it. There could possibly be other reasons something is coming to them, they usually are crediting it to manifestation. Second, the Bible says that Satan is “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30), and the demons do attempt to influence people, particularly non-believers. Satan can work on the earth because he has some power temporarily, so he could possibly be working on the earth to make something manifest to maintain that person in delusion.
What Makes Prayer Different from Manifesting?
When someone prays, they’re going to God and pairing thanksgiving, worship, and requests in an earnest conversation. It is a relationship, and a Christian is counting on God in His wisdom and power to offer. While it could be difficult to wrestle with, a Christian also must be submitted to God if He denies someone something.
In a prayer-based, appropriate relationship with God, people make requests and understand that it is probably not God’s will to grant it. Even Jesus said during His earthly ministry, “I can do nothing alone. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my very own will but the need of him who sent me” (John 5:30). If He does, it’s a blessing, and God receives glory since it was done in His power.
Christians are called to have an attitude that’s continually being sanctified to be more like Jesus Christ. Paul described Jesus in this fashion, “Have this mind amongst yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the shape of God, didn’t count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the shape of a servant, being born within the likeness of men. And being present in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the purpose of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). In someone’s prayer life, they’re to have this mindset. Jesus submitted His will to the Father. When Christians pray, they rejoice when God grants the request, but ultimately they don’t pray only to get what they need.
Manifestation isn’t a conversation with God; it’s self-focused, and is predicated on the premise that individuals have the ability to make things occur within the universe around them through pure will or psychic force or energy. Only God could make something from nothing, and might bend the universe to His will.
Christians mustn’t merely consider that God will all the time grant them whatever they need. There are false doctrines that teach ideas like “name it and claim it,” visualization, or that if you have got faith in God, He will provide you with any materialistic desire it’s possible you’ll want. The Book of Job is a complete book of the Bible that serves as a case study against this concept. The lives of the apostles too. They had faith in Jesus Christ, but all were martyred for his or her faith, and needed to make significant sacrifices.
While one could argue that manifestation is a type of faith, the religion of a Christian is built on fundamentally different foundations. The basis of manifestation is that an individual has the ability to make something occur. Christian faith is rooted in the idea that God will fulfill His guarantees, and that He can do anything, so whether it is His will, He will answer prayer within the affirmative; if He answers within the negative, He has one other plan.
What Should Christians Do When They Want Something to Happen?
If Christians want something to occur, or they would really like something specific of their life, they need to go to God in prayer. While someone who has a relationship with God mustn’t be focused just on the things of this world, it’s okay to ask for things on this world. Christians can pray for a house or a family, for food, for a automobile, for a job, for blessings, for the welfare of others, and all of the things that somebody who believes in manifestation may attempt to will into their lives.
However, the Apostle James does have a very important message to think about when praying, “You ask and don’t receive, since you ask wrongly, to spend it in your passions” (James 4:3). In other words, if Christians are praying for things and God is always saying no, it’s because they’re asking for things that are usually not in God’s will. Maybe they’re asking for something sinful. Maybe God wants to present them something else. Regardless, the purpose is Christians can find themselves asking for things that are usually not in God’s will to grant.
It is okay to ask for blessings from the Lord, and to want them. Christians should go the Lord and talk over with Him. But be willing to just accept that we don’t all the time get what we wish on this life, but there are greater blessings we’ll enjoy for eternity. Avoid the temptation to attempt to manifest, because the Bible says Christians should depend on God, walking by faith, and trusting the Lord know best.
Sources
Groothius, Doug. Confronting the New Age. Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 1988.
Lewis, James. The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of New Age Religions. Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2004.
Sproul, RC. Surprised by Suffering Discover your loving Father’s call to Endure Suffering. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1968.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Povozniuk
Bethany Verrett is a contract author who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived everywhere in the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.
