Why Don't I Ask? | Lessons from James
Welcome to Real Life. Happily exhausted, our family was exiting the
Magic Kingdom down Main St. USA. Suddenly five-year-old Cal looked up and said,
“But, I didn't get to meet Mickey Mouse.”
My heart sank. I had no idea he
wanted to meet Mickey. The park was
closing. It was too late to go back.
What am I longing for? God is my heavenly Father. He loves me. Nothing is too hard for him to arrange. So, why don’t I ask?
I've asked, many times. God hasn’t answered.
Something to think about…
“Why didn’t you ask?” I replied. I’m his mom. I love him. I would have gladly arranged for my son to
meet Mickey Mouse. If only he had
asked.
“You desire but do not have …
You do not have because you do not ask God.”[1]
You do not have because you do not ask God.”[1]
What am I longing for? God is my heavenly Father. He loves me. Nothing is too hard for him to arrange. So, why don’t I ask?
God is
omniscient. He sees and knows my deepest
thoughts and needs. Why do I need to
ask? Why doesn’t he just meet my needs?
When God answers my specific prayers it builds my
faith. I know he’s there. It is powerful evidence of God’s
presence in my world. More importantly,
communication builds relationship. I grow
closer to Jesus as I speak with him in prayer.
God is sovereign. He is going to do his will regardless of
whether or not I pray. So why pray? Do my prayers make a difference?
God is sovereign. And
yet, prayer moves him to action. Joshua
prayed and the sun stood still. Elijah
prayed and a dead child revived. Peter
prayed and a crippled man walked. My
prayers don’t control God. However, often
he waits at the sidelines of my life until I invite him to step in. “The prayer of a righteous person is
powerful and effective.”[2]
I've asked, many times. God hasn’t answered.
God always answers.
It’s just that sometimes his answer is no or wait. He knows what’s best for me. He sees the complete picture, while I only
see a portion. In eternity, I’ll see the
wisdom in all he does. For now, God says,
“Trust me.” Trust is a critical in
prayer. If I pray without believing God
can or will respond, he won’t.[3]
He answers no
to selfish prayers: “… you ask with wrong
motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”[4]
I want a fun, easy life. (Doesn’t everyone?) God’s not opposed to fun and easy. However, our world is full of hurting people. Do I care? Or is everything always about me?
My heart will never be perfect in prayer. Still, God wants me to come and ask. As we talk, he works on my heart. He is my Father. He wants to give me good gifts.[5] A
meeting with Mickey is no problem. If
only I would ask.
Lord, please give me faith to ask and wisdom to ask well. Amen.
Something to think about…
- What is your soul longing for? Ask Him.
- Struggling to believe? Ask a friend to pray. Often friends have faith when ours is gone.
- God’s answer to our prayers might look different than we expect: “Blessings” by Laura Story.
- Scott Hamilton talks about learning to ask God in "I Am Second." (10 min. long, but very encouraging).
[1]
James 4:2
[2]
James 5:16b
[3]
James 1:5-8
[4]
James 4:3
[5]
Luke 11:11-13
Image of Mickey Mouse: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7f/Mickey_Mouse.svg/250px-Mickey_Mouse.svg.png
Image of praying woman: https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTPj2it2BxdVAC1t4TGYpByNUV5KTeHA_4qvjbeMZ8mk03kh6ghBg
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