If you will ask

Denver granddaughters, the Keister young ladies.

Theresa and I are enjoying a snowy Christmas in Denver wiwth Fletcher, Jennifer and girls.

Just finished reading "If You Will Ask" by Oswald Chambers - a challenging short book on prayer. Cost me six cents on Amazon (plus shipping).

Some interesting tidbits:
When a man is born from above, the life of the Son of God begins in him, and he can either starve that life or nourish it. Prayer nourishes the life of God.

Prayer to Him is not a way to get things from God, but so that we may get to know God... the very presence of God.

It is not cowardly to pray when we are at our wits end; it is the only way to get in touch with reality. As long as we are self-sufficient and complacent, we don't need to ask God for anything; we don't want Him. It is only when we know we are powerless that we are prepared to listen to Jesus Christ and do what He says.

The whole meaning of prayer is that we get to know God. May that be a greater desire on our parts for next yer.

ASK

To bring some structure to prayer, some folk like to pray according to the acronym ACTS. A for adoration. C for confession. T for thanksgiving and S for supplication, in that order. We’re using the acronym PRAY. P-praise. R – repent. A – ask and Y – yield. We've looked at the fist two. Today we recognize “ask.”

Think of it. As a child of God, I can approach Him boldly. Hebrews 4:16 tells us: So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

I’m not worthy to enter His presence of my own merit, but because I’m a part of God’s family, He not only invites me into His company but enjoys my asking of Him. Mathew7:7-11 explains it. “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. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.

Ask. Seek. Knock on the door. Receive. That is a formula that when I, as a young Christian, was a source for great cynicism. I’d ask God for something, like for fluent speech to replace my stuttering. Z-z-zip. N-n-n-nada. I would get so angry at God for what a thought was “false advertising.” I didn’t realize that there are times that God says “NO” to our requests when He believes it wouldn’t be a good gift for us. In other words, stuttering was a better gift for me than fluent speech.

I look back at my 70 years and can see how God has used stuttering as a “good gift,” however, if I had my druthers, I”d druther not stutter. I have to continualy work on thanking God (by faith) for this challenge.

Ask. “What if I’m asking for the wrong thing,” some may wonder. If we’re requesting amiss, He will not open the door. If the appeal would not bring God’s best for us, He’ll say “no.” Simple.

Philippians 4 challenges us: Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God your needs. Don’t forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this you will experience God’s peace which is far greater than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.

It’s easy to thank Him for the requests that come with an answer “yes.” But to expess gratitude when He says “no” is the precursor to “thoughts and hearts quiet and at rest.”
Ask. Tomorrow's post: yield.