Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Open Wide!

Matthew 7:11 - If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
I am praying over a situation. Scriptures abundantly remind us that all we need do is ask God and He will hear; He will give good things to those who do ask, to those whom He calls His children.
I decided to do a search on scriptures showing what happens when we ask God for something...this does not mean asking for things which would not be God's will. He hears when we seek Him for protection (Monday's blog), for the desires of our hearts, for His provision, for our purification, for anything in line with His Word. 

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday which sort of caused me some anxiety. As I waited for the orthopedic to come in I realized the anxiety mounting. I whispered: Lord, You are my strength and You know what I need. In less than a minute my anxiety was gone. And the news I received from the doctor was good! Yes, Jesus knew everything in advance and because I was basically asking for His strength, He gave me peace, knowing full well what the outcome would be. God gives us what we need. (See Matthew 6:8 and Psalm 34:4 below!)

Look at this list and notice what happens when we ask Him for "whatever":
Matthew 21:22 - And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.
Matthew 7:7 - Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Matthew 6:8 - ... For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
Psalm 34:4  - I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. 
Psalm 50:15 - Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me." 
Isaiah 58:9 - Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and He will say, "Here I am."
Isaiah 65:24 - It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 
Matthew 18:19 - Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.
John 14:13 - And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
1John 5:14 - Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.

There are so many more. God is there for all who seek Him. Seek Him for His gift of salvation, then seek Him for anything that is in His will. He is there to guide all into truth. He is there for our protection and strength If we, by faith, believe that He will respond to our cries or our petitions, and believe that He is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do, then...in His timing...He will answer our prayers.

Oswald Chambers, the day I determined to pray over this situation, talked on the very subject! What wonderful confirmation. Chambers said for July 16: He [Jesus regarding Matthew 7:11 above] urges us to keep our minds filled with the notion of God's control behind everything, which means that the disciple [any believer] must maintain an attitude of perfect trust and an eagerness to ask and to seek. When I read that my heart skipped a beat. Not only that but another devotion I read that morning said pretty much the same thing.

I think about the process of my determining to seek God and His Word over this thing and His very swift answer/confirmation. Some might think this coincidence. I consider it a promise...If you have read the scriptures above you will recall Matthew 6:8 which says that He knows before we even ask. He just waited for me to ask. But the clincher is, we must never stop asking.

Chambers added these phrases: ...my Father knows all about it! God is my Father, He loves me, why should I worry? ...rest in perfect confidence in Him.

His timing...always perfect, never too early or too late. He sets the stage behind the scenes and we cannot understand why we might have to wait. But He will respond. We will see His hand at work some day. Acts 1:7 - And He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority."

God is glorified through the works He does. AND, we will glorify Him when our prayers are answered. If this world would recognize the power we have through Him. If we would, as scripture says, humble ourselves, pray and seek God, turn from our wickedness He would bring such change in this world, He would heal the land. Imagine if every Christian would truly ask this each day what could happen.

We are living in trying times. If we would be faithful to seek Him now even for the little things and He answers, imagine how when things in our lives get really difficult and we seek Him for solutions, strength or protection, we will already have been strengthened knowing He has answered in the past and will be our "whatever" for the more trying situations. 

Our God is not a God who only punishes, but He promises good things. It's all in how we look at Him. It's all in how much we believe and have faith in Him. Expect nothing from Him if He is not sought. Expect the world if He is. He longs to do great things for us. But we need to ask.

Psalm 81:10 - I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt; 0pen your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 

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