Faith to Ask
"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall beopened unto you;" ~Matthew 7:7
Ask - Petition God in prayer. Ask in faith; you need to have a level of belief that you can attain what you are asking for.
"Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe
that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." ~Mark 11:24
Seek - Be sure you are asking for the right things, and above all that you are seeking for those things that will invite God to be with you. To me, seeking good means that I am seeking what God wants for me. It also means that I am staying focused on what I am asking for, and I'm going to stay focused until I receive what I am seeking.
"Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall
be with you, as ye have spoken." ~Amos 5:14
Knock - To me, knock denotes that there is some physical action taking place.
"The answer to your prayer is not according to your faith while you are talking,
but according to your faith while you are working." ~Wallace D. Wattles
So you are going to ask in faith for that which is God's Will, and then you are going to go to work to accomplish it!
We are told over and over again in the scriptures to ask! I believe that God has so many blessings in store for us that he is waiting for us to request. He is waiting to open the windows of heaven and pour blessings down on us! Why aren't we asking?
~We don't understand the true nature of God. God is generous and has so many blessings for us! When we understand this about God, we will not be afraid to ask, ask, ask! Sometimes we are afraid to ask because we've asked for something before and someone has become angry at us, and so we assume that God will be angry at us, also. His answer may be no or not yet, but he will never be angry with us for asking! Our view is so limited that it is hard for us to imagine a Being who has so much to give and is so generous with it!
~We believe that we will be spoiled if we have too much. You can't be spoiled and grateful at the same time! As we become more grateful and recognize God's hand in our lives, we will in turn look for ways to bless other people more! EVERYTHING that comes from God is GOOD!!!
~We believe that money is the root of all evil! In truth, money is not good or evil; it is an accelerator, meaning it accelerates the direction we are already going. If greed is our general nature, then more money will in fact make us more greedy (or will show our greed to the world). On the other hand, if generosity is our general nature then money will show our generosity to the world! When we try to take money that doesn't belong to us from someone else, then that is evil and wrong. But when we receive the blessings that God is giving to us, then we are blessed! Nothing that comes from God can ever be evil!
~We don't believe we will receive what we are asking for anyway! Or we don't feel worthy to receive it so we don't ask for it. We can choose to believe that God is generous and has great blessings waiting for us. This will prompt us to ASK, believing that we will receive! And because we know these blessings come from God, we will automatically seek to know what he wants us to do with these blessings! God loves us and wants to bless us, even when we make mistakes! We are NEVER undeserving of God's love -- it's a gift He freely gives and there is nothing we can do to turn His love away from us!
~We don't know what to ask for -- ask for anything that is good and that you stand in need of! Ask for physical blessings, emotional blessings, mental blessings, and spiritual blessings. Ask for knowledge, understanding, discernment... anything you need! BUT, ask in faith!
"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." ~James 1:5-6
My Story
When we bought our last house we knew it was a fixer-upper, but we loved the neighborhood, the yard, and the floor plan so we bought it! What we didn't know was that replacing the carpet, air conditioning, and roof would be so expensive that we would have to wait a while to make some of the other changes!
Gradually we started making the cosmetic changes, and it was time to get granite countertops. I had a budget I was working with and so I was trying to keep it as cheap as possible. I had someone come and give me a quote. He loved doing granite and marble work, and had over 20 years of experience so he was able to help me expand my vision a little! On his way out the door to bring samples to my house (and measure my countertops) he grabbed a piece of brown/black granite that matched my floor perfectly! He suggested a travertine tile backsplash with granite accents in it! I hadn't even thought to ask for that because of my budget. The amazing part -- it was all within my budget!
I was amazed and humbled and reminded that God is a very, very, very generous supplier! He expands our vision in small things like countertops, and in big things like what we can do with our lives!
What are some things that you could ask for that you aren't asking for? What can you do to increase your faith so that you can ask, seek, and knock -- and have heaven's blessings opened up to you!
Daily Challenge: Every day for 30 days in a row,
I want you to say the following out loud at least 10 times each day!!!
Be sure to say it cheerfully and enthusiastically!
This scripture is found in Philippians 4:13:
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
You've now completed this challenge 22 days in a row!
Be sure to congratulate yourself for a job well done!
You've now completed this challenge 22 days in a row!
Be sure to congratulate yourself for a job well done!
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