Removing the Buttons Part Eleven - Ask!
(Quick note: I never, ever intended to have a 12-part series on this blog. And when God led me to the Sermon on the Mount last month, I honestly asked, "Seriously?" But never before have I looked so deeply into my own heart. Never before have I asked Christ to cleanse me, remove my buttons, and make me like Him this passionately. Never before have I been so aware of my Pharisaical tendencies. So, if for nothing else, these blog posts were for me. I just thank you for tagging along while I preach to myself :)
I've already written on prayer in this blog ("A New Wardrobe Part 7" on July 24 of this year). [By the way, if anyone can please tell me how to link to my own blog, would you please let me know so I don't look so, well, OLD?!?!? Thanks!] But today's passage is a little different:
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened," (Matthew 7:7-8, NIV).
As I meditated and pondered and studied this passage over the past week, I could focus only on one word: ASK.
What have you asked God for today? This week? This year? (Seriously. Don't read on until you can answer one thing in your head.)
[Come on. Really. WHAT DID YOU ASK FOR?]
Why did you ask Him for that? What did He say?
The first verse that came to mind when I thought about ASK was James 1:5-6: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt..." and then on to James 4:2-3, "You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
We learn SO MUCH from those few verses in James. So here's what I get:
1) God generously gives wisdom if we ask.
2) When we ask, though, we must BELIEVE and not doubt.
3) We are missing out on some things in our life because we've never asked God for them. [OUCH. OUCH. OUCH. So, even if we just look at these verses, I ask you, Are you wise? If you answer "no," then I might say, "Either you didn't ask for it or you didn't believe God could make you wise!!!" This is HUGE!]
4) When we ask, we won't receive if we're asking for ourselves.
Scripture tells us to pray. The prophets told the people to pray. Jesus told His disciples to pray. (More on that below.) And when we pray, we are encouraged to ASK God for things. And it takes belief--FAITH--for those things to happen.
So when you were six years old and you prayed God would give you a puppy or a pony or a baby sister, and you REALLY believed your prayer would be answered, did you get it? No. Why? Because (see #4 above) we were asking for ourselves.
And if there's one thing prayer is supposed to do, it's supposed to get us in step with God. Before we ever utter a word or ask for a single thing, we intentionally submit to His plan, His will, His authority.
In the Sermon on the Mount, a few chapters back, Jesus gave an example prayer to His disciples:
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one," (Matthew 6:9-13).
And here is how you might think about it: (my interpretation for 2014)
"O God, You are in heaven and You are holy, meaning you are completely strong and completely perfect. And we both know that I'm not. So please help me focus on YOUR kingdom and YOUR will. I volunteer to bring a little slice of heaven to earth by obeying you wholeheartedly. Lord I ask that you give me what I need for today because I can't fathom tomorrow. And I'm so in need of forgiveness from You that I choose to freely forgive everyone, whether they deserve it or not. Again. Even though I forgave them yesterday. Because I need your forgiveness every day, too. I cling to You and Your Word so that I don't get fooled by Satan's temptations."
So you noticed that the first half of Jesus' prayer taught the disciples--and us--to GET IN STEP WITH GOD. When we choose to put Him where He belongs--at the top--and acknowledge who He is--LORD OF EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE--what we ASK for changes.
Let me say that again: When God is where He belongs in our heart and mind, what we ASK for changes.
Because suddenly we don't need that puppy or that pony or that baby sister.
Or that job. Or that guy. Or that grade, outfit, affirmation, accolade, or certain number of "likes."
When we really have our view fixed and our priorities right, all we want is Him. Nothing else. We want to love Him, to please Him, and to bring renown to Him.
Our asking changes when we are purposely focused on His kingdom.
OUR ASKING CHANGES WHEN WE ARE PURPOSELY FOCUSED ON HIS KINGDOM.
So as I was running this morning, I pondered this fact. My sweet 5-year old son has a dentist appointment to have fillings in his FIVE CAVITIES. And my mind went back and forth between focusing on God's kingdom and fillings. I had been praying that he would be brave, that he wouldn't be scarred by the shots, and that I wouldn't cry to see him in pain. And then I put my focus on God and my prayers changed. I asked, "Lord, more than anything, help him learn to trust You and depend on You through this difficulty! And may he know Your peace when I pray it over him!"
GOD. FOCUS. Not me-focused. Not even others-focused. God focus.
That's what it means to "pray in Jesus' name," (scriptures below). Most of us think we're praying in Jesus' name by tacking on, "In Jesus' name, Amen," to the end of our prayers. But that's not it; it means to pray according to Who Jesus is, Who He represents, and His Kingdom's purpose. And when we pray in His name, WE GET WHAT WE PRAY FOR.
He promised!
"...my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete," (John 16:23-24).
"You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it," (John 14:14).
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him," (1 John 5:14-15).
"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you," (John 15:7).
Oh, sweet sister, HE HEARS. HE KNOWS. And HE GIVES US WHAT WE ASK FOR when we ask for HIM. His name. His glory. His plan. His kingdom.
Give it a week: don't ASK for anything unless you're 100% sure it's in Jesus' name. And when it is, WATCH OUT. HE WILL SHOW UP.
Need help knowing how to pray in Jesus' name? I am here to help you pray if you want it. Please write me at myleslienotebook@gmail.com
And though we'll be wrapping up this series in one more post, you still need to subscribe! Please put your email address at the top right and answer the email they send you.
I've already written on prayer in this blog ("A New Wardrobe Part 7" on July 24 of this year). [By the way, if anyone can please tell me how to link to my own blog, would you please let me know so I don't look so, well, OLD?!?!? Thanks!] But today's passage is a little different:
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened," (Matthew 7:7-8, NIV).
As I meditated and pondered and studied this passage over the past week, I could focus only on one word: ASK.
What have you asked God for today? This week? This year? (Seriously. Don't read on until you can answer one thing in your head.)
[Come on. Really. WHAT DID YOU ASK FOR?]
Why did you ask Him for that? What did He say?
The first verse that came to mind when I thought about ASK was James 1:5-6: "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt..." and then on to James 4:2-3, "You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."
We learn SO MUCH from those few verses in James. So here's what I get:
1) God generously gives wisdom if we ask.
2) When we ask, though, we must BELIEVE and not doubt.
3) We are missing out on some things in our life because we've never asked God for them. [OUCH. OUCH. OUCH. So, even if we just look at these verses, I ask you, Are you wise? If you answer "no," then I might say, "Either you didn't ask for it or you didn't believe God could make you wise!!!" This is HUGE!]
4) When we ask, we won't receive if we're asking for ourselves.
Scripture tells us to pray. The prophets told the people to pray. Jesus told His disciples to pray. (More on that below.) And when we pray, we are encouraged to ASK God for things. And it takes belief--FAITH--for those things to happen.
So when you were six years old and you prayed God would give you a puppy or a pony or a baby sister, and you REALLY believed your prayer would be answered, did you get it? No. Why? Because (see #4 above) we were asking for ourselves.
And if there's one thing prayer is supposed to do, it's supposed to get us in step with God. Before we ever utter a word or ask for a single thing, we intentionally submit to His plan, His will, His authority.
In the Sermon on the Mount, a few chapters back, Jesus gave an example prayer to His disciples:
"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one," (Matthew 6:9-13).
And here is how you might think about it: (my interpretation for 2014)
"O God, You are in heaven and You are holy, meaning you are completely strong and completely perfect. And we both know that I'm not. So please help me focus on YOUR kingdom and YOUR will. I volunteer to bring a little slice of heaven to earth by obeying you wholeheartedly. Lord I ask that you give me what I need for today because I can't fathom tomorrow. And I'm so in need of forgiveness from You that I choose to freely forgive everyone, whether they deserve it or not. Again. Even though I forgave them yesterday. Because I need your forgiveness every day, too. I cling to You and Your Word so that I don't get fooled by Satan's temptations."
So you noticed that the first half of Jesus' prayer taught the disciples--and us--to GET IN STEP WITH GOD. When we choose to put Him where He belongs--at the top--and acknowledge who He is--LORD OF EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE--what we ASK for changes.
Let me say that again: When God is where He belongs in our heart and mind, what we ASK for changes.
Because suddenly we don't need that puppy or that pony or that baby sister.
Or that job. Or that guy. Or that grade, outfit, affirmation, accolade, or certain number of "likes."
When we really have our view fixed and our priorities right, all we want is Him. Nothing else. We want to love Him, to please Him, and to bring renown to Him.
Our asking changes when we are purposely focused on His kingdom.
OUR ASKING CHANGES WHEN WE ARE PURPOSELY FOCUSED ON HIS KINGDOM.
So as I was running this morning, I pondered this fact. My sweet 5-year old son has a dentist appointment to have fillings in his FIVE CAVITIES. And my mind went back and forth between focusing on God's kingdom and fillings. I had been praying that he would be brave, that he wouldn't be scarred by the shots, and that I wouldn't cry to see him in pain. And then I put my focus on God and my prayers changed. I asked, "Lord, more than anything, help him learn to trust You and depend on You through this difficulty! And may he know Your peace when I pray it over him!"
GOD. FOCUS. Not me-focused. Not even others-focused. God focus.
That's what it means to "pray in Jesus' name," (scriptures below). Most of us think we're praying in Jesus' name by tacking on, "In Jesus' name, Amen," to the end of our prayers. But that's not it; it means to pray according to Who Jesus is, Who He represents, and His Kingdom's purpose. And when we pray in His name, WE GET WHAT WE PRAY FOR.
He promised!
"...my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete," (John 16:23-24).
"You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it," (John 14:14).
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him," (1 John 5:14-15).
"If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you," (John 15:7).
Oh, sweet sister, HE HEARS. HE KNOWS. And HE GIVES US WHAT WE ASK FOR when we ask for HIM. His name. His glory. His plan. His kingdom.
Give it a week: don't ASK for anything unless you're 100% sure it's in Jesus' name. And when it is, WATCH OUT. HE WILL SHOW UP.
Need help knowing how to pray in Jesus' name? I am here to help you pray if you want it. Please write me at myleslienotebook@gmail.com
And though we'll be wrapping up this series in one more post, you still need to subscribe! Please put your email address at the top right and answer the email they send you.
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