Scripture

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

Matthew 7:7, NLT

Quote

The majority of the model prayer is petition.

~Ron Dunn

Prayer is not a fetish or a rabbit’s foot and there is much more to prayer than receiving but, we humans are the inferior party and our Heavenly Father has all that we need. He is not offended by our asking and we should not feel guilty about doing so. I do admit, it is the most natural aspect of prayer. Our desperate need of Christ is why we pray in the first place and it is natural to ask Him to give us our daily bread. I do think it is wise to keep the ACTS acrostic in mind: Adore, Confess, Thank and Supplicate {personal request}. Others use the acrostic FACTS and begin with FAITH. I need help on the praise and adoration part so I use scripture to help me. Yet, I admit that sometimes, I am so burdened by my sin that I have to begin with confession. June and I use to do THANK YOU PRAYERS on Sunday night. The rule was, we couldn’t ask for anything, just focus on what God had already done. It is not as easy as you think!

I must tell you that I do not like or agree with some of the things being taught on the subject of prayer. I agree with Philip Graham Ryken, “The reward for secret prayer is pray itself, the blessing and joy of resting with Christ in sweet communion.” But this is merely one aspect of prayer. As Jack Taylor once said, “Prayer is worship but it is also warfare and work.” He said, “This is the reason so few people pray.” We love the joy and the celebration that comes with sweet communion but do we understand the agony of a Gethsemane.

All I am saying is: “Do not stop asking.” We do ask in repentance, in faith and in Jesus name but we must not stop asking. I do not agree with people who say that prayer can change nothing other than the one praying. This is not scripture. Ask and keep on asking is a command from Jesus. Why the innocent suffer is a mystery; one that no one has figured out and prayer is another. No one on earth can explain how it works. Why would a sovereign God need to hear from us? No one can answer this question but this is OK. I would not want to worship a God that some human could explain. So keep praying and keep asking because Jesus commanded it and it is natural for a child to appeal to their father.

Study the model prayer and see for yourselves: it is filled with petitions:

‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
¹⁰ ‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ ‘Give us this day our daily bread.
¹² ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’]

James taught that our spiritual poverty comes from not asking. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. Get your motives straight and keep asking.

Extra

Hey, you can’t beat the weather we have had in 2023, four straight days above 65 degrees and two above 70. Busy day today, God willing. Gilchrist service at 2:00 and Mid-week worship tonight at 6:00 and we will be in Psalm 121, my mother’s favorite.

Kids back in school and Jackson back in the house. Lexi spoils him and now we have to work him back into shape. Chloe Bug is helping us this week but Big Mama and I will be on our own next week. He is a handful, for sure!

Have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.