Scriptures

Matthew 7:7-11
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

James 1:5-8
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Luke 11:1-13
And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Give us day by day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

Matthew 21:22
And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Mark 11:24
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

John 14:13-14
And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

John 15:7
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

ASK, BELIEVE, RECEIVE

Pray believing. Pray unceasingly!

What do Jesus and James both instruct? What do you need to ask yourself? Do you doubt the power and effectiveness of prayer? (James is specifically talking about doubting when we ask for wisdom, but we may be able to give his words a broader application as well.) Do you sometimes feel like you are praying to the four walls around you? Do you go to the Lord with ALL of your concerns, lay them at His feet, and then KNOW that they have been addressed and that they are in His hands?

The Luke passage may be my favorite Scripture on prayer. It is such a great encouragement. It is the parallel passage to part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew.Feast on this wonderful message from your Lord. And like yesterday, ask the questions who, what, and why.

What a blessing to hear Jesus’ heart and how much He wants us to feel free to beg and to plead and to borrow anything we need from God! Now, keeping this in mind, take time today to lay all of your concerns, burdens, and hurts before the Lord.

The Bible repeats what is important. Ask the Lord for all you need. Ask Him to increase the power and faith of your prayer life.

My Own Thoughts

Today is the day that I go to the store and get a little me time as I shop. In times past, this used to be a time for me to unwind and get away, have a coffee with a friend or wander through stores casually shopping. With the rising prices of pretty much everything, shopping has taken on a whole new look. Since 2019 my shopping habits have changed. I went into storage mode and yet I find myself ill prepared for the days to come. As we went over bills and what had to be done, food was the last thing on the list this week, unfortunately.

As we talked I listened and added up the bills and what not as my husband named them off and I could feel my heart want to drop into my stomach. A dollar does not go as far as it used to and I was watching my grocery money slowly disappear. I had to take a moment to confess my fears to the Lord and ask Him to stretch the money and to bless the work of my hands as I shopped the next day. The fear was low key still there but through a crazy turn of events, I was able to find some crazy good deals that I may go back to. The Lord multiplied and blessed my day at the store and I was able to get some things that I have not been able to get in a while. I praise the Lord for this and I am truly humbled every time He answers a prayer of mine.

Psalms 8:4-5
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.

Job 7:17
What is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? and that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him?

Until next time beloved, pray with all your might for the Lord hears us! He will answer we need only to trust that He has us and will take care of His children. He will give us the desires of our hearts because the desires of our hearts will change as we grow to love Him more. May you all be filled with all the goodness of God beloved and stay peculiar!