Something that Pastor Rick Warren said in one of his teaching videos that we’re watching through the week as part of our church’s “40 Days of Prayer” really caught my attention. He talked about imagining in heaven, that an angel showed you a massive room filled with every kind of blessing and answer to prayer you could ever imagine and more! “These are all the blessings and answers to prayer that God wanted to give you while you were on earth.” Our natural response would be, “Why didn’t I get them when I needed them?” And the angel replies, “Because you never asked for them!”
James 4:2 “…you do not have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” Often times I don’t pray because I know that God knows what I need and if He wants to give it to me, He will! Some of you may feel that way, too. In fact, in Matthew 6 just before Jesus teaches His disciples what we call “The Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus says, “Your Father knows exactly what you need before you ask!” However, after Jesus reveals that truth, He goes on and says, “Pray like this…” God wants us to pray about everything, talking to Him and listening to Him. Part of our prayers is “supplication” – asking God to meet our needs.
Pastor Rick’s illustration helped me to understand more fully that our Father loves to answer our prayers. And He also loves to have His kids (you and me) come into His presence and ask Him to meet our needs. He loves our “Father-child” relationship. This is why we were created: for God to love us and for us love God in a personal, up-close relationship. And because of Jesus and His work on the cross, we can have this intimacy of “Father and son,” or “Father and daughter.”
I love when my kids come and ask me for help. (For decades I was the “official jar opener” when no one else could do it!) I love to feel like they still need their Dad, even though there’s much they can do themselves. Our Father in heaven feels the same way. Everything is His, and as His children all He has is freely given to us – but, He loves us to ask! He loves when we depend on Him and trust Him with every area of our lives. He loves when we come to Him admitting our need and our own inability to meet that need ourselves, and then asking for His help. In all things big and small, God wants us to pray, asking for His help and depending on Him.
One of my decisions and commitments made so far in our 40-day journey is to be more intentional in having an ongoing conversation with God including asking Him to meet my every need. Not just the ones I can’t manage by myself, but every need so I grow more and more dependent on Him.
So, how about we make it a point to pray and ask – and empty that storehouse in heaven of all the blessings and answers to prayer that God wants to give us?
Blessings!
Pastor Bill