Have you ever persistently asked a loved one for something that you wanted?  Maybe it was a gift or a trip or even an activity you wanted to do. They might not give in to your request but they aren’t going to give you something awful instead.  Jesus gives this as an example of praying to the Father in Heaven.  Let’s look at what He has to say together today. 

 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

When we ask God for things in prayer He hears us and answers us.  Jesus does not say that He will give us exactly what we ask for in prayer.  He tells us that God has good gifts for us.  Sometimes we must wait and others His answer is no.  As the great theologian Garth Brooks once said, “Some of God’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayer.”  I would argue that a bit because God always answers our prayers He just sometimes gives us something different than what we specifically asked for.  God’s promise to us is that He will ultimately use what He gives us for our good.  I have found that at times in my life I was disappointed with how God answered my prayers.  Then when I looked back at that I was able to see how He used that circumstance or situation for my ultimate good.  The important thing is that Jesus tells us to ask God when we have requests.  Go to Him boldly and consistently knowing that He has our good in store. 

In His Grip,

Pastor Dave