Friday, August 19, 2005

Effective Prayer - Ask Him

Effective Prayer

God is our awesome provider. He has given us countless blessings to those who love and seek Him. We often do not come to Him with our needs. We miss His blessings by not seeking His hands, by not asking, or by asking the wrong motives.

Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks. You parents – if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. Matthew 7:7-11

The Golden Rule
Do for others what you would like them to do for you. This is a summary of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12

If you need wisdom, if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. James 1:5

You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous for what others have, and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them. And yet the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong – you want only what will give you pleasure. James 4:2-3

Dear Father,

I praise Your holy name. You are worthy to be praised. Your wisdoms abounds. Let everything that has breath on earth praise Your holy name. I thank You for those times when I have cried out to You and You have provided. I thank You that I can do all things through Jesus who strengthens me. Forgive me for the times when I have been in real need and forgotten to call out Your name. Forgive me for those times when I did call Your name and asked for the wrong things because of my own personal desires. Teach me to rely on You for all things. Let me first look to the needs of my family and neighbors before I seek my own needs. Use me to help those in need. Let me always be dependent on you.

In Jesus name I asked.
Amen

Give God thanks for all that He has provided. Pray that you will bring every request, every need to our Father.

1 comment:

Mark Lowenstein said...

I like the line, "Keep on knocking and the door will be opened." Funny, you mentioned this in your "Effective Prayer" blog. When I read this line, immediately, the Parable of the Persistent Widow came to mind in Luke 18, especially the very first verse:

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." Luke 18:1 (niv)

Thanks for this blog as a reminder to us all, especially me, not to give up "knocking" (praying)!! :)