Tag: Ask for it

Persistent in Prayer and Faith

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Adoration, Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Awesome God, Beyond Description, Blessing, Celebrate God, Needs, Praise, Praise-worthy, Recognize God, Worship2 Comments

DATE POSTED: Monday, July 24, 2023, and I was blessed to be at Orlando, FL when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find, read or listen to any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE FROM THE Contemporary English Version (CEV) IS FOUND IN Luke 18:5-8

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: I will help this widow because she keeps on bothering me. If I don’t help her, she will wear me out.” The Lord said: Think about what that crooked judge said. Won’t God protect his chosen ones who pray to him day and night? Won’t he be concerned for them? He will surely hurry and help them….

MY INITIAL THOUGHTS: In this devotional, I believe we may be prompted to consider the difference between persistence and nagging, or faith versus vainly begging for something. Stay tuned and ask God to reveal Himself through His Word as you join me in meditating on today’s Scripture.

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: Every so often we need reminding about our awesome, forgiving, loving Lord who cares so much for us. This story reminded me of a young waiter who served my wife and I at an upscale local restaurant. At a time when our daughter was looking for a job, I asked the young man how did he land a job at a nice restaurant like the one we were at. He responded that his persistence paid off. After submitting his application, he visited the restaurant to ask if they received it, then every day or two he would revisit the restaurant to see if they had made a hiring decision yet. He attributed his success in landing the job to more than his limited qualifications, but in showing the restaurant management how serious he was about wanting to work for them. Sounds similar to the story of the judge mentioned by Jesus, right? But how persistent are we in praying without ceasing for the concerns of our life, and that of the ones we love? Are you negligent in the importance of prayer? Do you lack in the faith to believe that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead is the same God you are asking to heal a broken heart, or restore strength to a concerned heart over daily issues in your family or at work? But how is your relationship with the God to whom you need to ask? Is it one where you communicate daily with Him to celebrate the times of answered prayer and share with Him the concerns you are anticipating that day? Do you always remember that the same one who brought sight to the blind in John 9:6, and made the lame to walk again in Mark 2:11, and restored life to the likes of a dead man as in John 11:38, is the one to whom you are asking to do miraculous things for you today? Friends, we serve an awesome God, and He is eager and ready to accept you into His Kingdom if you surrender your life of sin to His will and purpose today. Remember, Jesus knows our thoughts and therefore knows the desires of our heart. I believe that He stands ready and willing to hear our prayer, or cry, for help, surrender, and in sharing our heart’s cry for help and direction in all walks of our life. I believe He desires to be magnified in us and glorified in all that is achieved in and through us, but we must make the first move. Is it ‘life as usual’ for you, or are you ready to partner with the King of all kings and Lord of all lords today, and for all eternity?

BLESSINGS WORTH NOTING: I often feel guilty of asking God repeatedly for things. But it seems like Jesus is encouraging us to pray frequently, and ask without ceasing. I’m so happy that God loves us unconditionally and He knows the innermost parts of our heart. Bombarding Him with our prayers will serve to show that we trust Him with our innermost thoughts and concerns over and over again.

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Precious Lord, You created us and You know our innermost thoughts. Only You can mend a broken heart, and only You can satisfy our desires and solve our concerns. Please teach us to be faithful in offering up our sacrifices of praise, plus the deepest desires of our heart. Things that seem impossible to us are all minor to You, for nothing is impossible with You. Humanly, we tend to cave in to constant bombardment of those in need, but with You Lord, I believe You knot only know our thoughts words and deeds, but You are constantly preparing the way for us to represent You in every aspect of our lives. May others see Jesus today, Lord! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There’s another page on my website, entitled ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to this page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, or subscribe for a daily email containing each new devotional, please go online to NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. For my podcast, go online to Apple Podcasts or, using the Apple Podcast app, simply search for Nuggets From God’s Word to hear more episodes, or click ‘Follow’ to be notified of Podcast updates. Friends, please allow me to encourage you to find a church home near by your home and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Our Lives Reflect What We Ask God For

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship2 Comments

Friday, 2019-11-22

Bible Reference: 1 Kings 3:4-5
Translation: New International Version (NIV)

Bible Text: 4 The king went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices, for that was the most important high place, and Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on that altar. 5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

OBSERVATION: This is a chapter well worth taking the time to read and meditate on. Solomon tried to pattern his life after his dad, David, so of course he followed many of God’s laws. However he still went to offer sacrifices to the gods of the local temples with his fellow citizens. But God had a plan for Solomon’s life, so He appeared to him in a dream, even while in Gibeon for the purpose of sacrificing to another god. The question asked by God in that dream is one that we should consider every time we approach God: ‘What do you want me to give you?’ How would you answer that?

APPLICATION: So often we bow the head to pray, and the words are automatic. We’ve heard the pastor, Sunday School teacher and friends pray, and always wished that we could pray that good, so we adopt certain points from their prayers so we might sound legitimate in the presence of our peers. But wait a minute, who are we praying to? What are we praying for? Do we have faith in the one to whom we are praying? Do we have a personal relationship with the one to whom we are praying, and have confidence that our deepest thoughts, expressions and requests will be safe in His hands? Do we know that He could do anything about all that is on my heart? Friends, I believe that when the God of all creation reaches down in love and shares His interest in us and simply asks us to share openly our needs with the only One who could do anything about them, suddenly our minds will turn away from memorized, written, or repetitious prayers, and the words from our heavy heart, or our joyous heart, or our pleading heart, will bubble forth as a heart longing for someone to understand us and our needs. Suddenly we realize that we are in the presence of the One who created us, the One who loved us even when we were so unlovable, the One who raised Lazarus from the dead, made the blind man see again and the crippled man walk – the only One who has the compassion to put up with our worry, heal our loved ones, encourage the broken hearted, get the attention of the lost, and fulfilled the promise of welcoming us home to glory when that day comes! Praise the Lord, Without the fear of retribution, we could freely, openly and in all honesty tell our Father exactly what we need and what we want. He is in control, and He knows before we do, what the best course of action is for our lives! Solomon was blessed with much more than he asked for. There is no telling what God has in store for us – His precious children! Oh that we will recognize Him the next time that we bow our heads in prayer, and may we always seek to ask Him for what He could do for us! Consider this: Our lives will reflect what we have asked God for! I don’t know about you precious friend, but I want to look so much like Christ, that others will be constantly reminded of who Jesus truly is.

PRAYER: Lord my prayer today is that others might see Jesus, and that they may hear the whisper of their Creator when He tells them ‘Ask for whatever you want’. Oh that Jesus will always be our greatest desire. AMEN!