Ask and it will be given to you
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."Matthew 7:7
This verse and just prayer in general has taken on new meaning for me as I was feeling the despair and pressure from my then upcoming OAT. It was a time of many inner struggles as I asked God for peace but felt none, and then became frustrated since I felt no peace. And it was like knocking on a door that just wouldn't open. Of course, I realized that it was probably that I was asking wrong, seeking wrong, and knocking wrong. That just caused a lot of self-battering and near defeat on my part.
Through it all though, I knew I needed to seek harder, to ask more, to knock louder, but not really sure what I needed to do differently. Grace be to God. He showed me little lights along the dark tunnel I was aimlessly walking. Matthew 11:28-30 came to mind.
Through it all though, I knew I needed to seek harder, to ask more, to knock louder, but not really sure what I needed to do differently. Grace be to God. He showed me little lights along the dark tunnel I was aimlessly walking. Matthew 11:28-30 came to mind.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."Matthew 11:28-30
It was what my heart needed to hear. What does Jesus mean when He says His yoke is easy and His burden is light? To me, it simply meant that I truly needed to lay my burdens down at His feet and let Him carry it for me. In return, I get to carry His light and easy yoke. Sounds like a good trade, eh? ;) Sometimes, life is just that simple. Why do we carry everything on our backs when Jesus so readily carries ours if we'd only let Him?
Anyway.
Oh and I should mention that with Matthew 7:7, the whole asking and receiving bit, you just cannot ask once and it will be given to you, seek once and you will find, knock once and the door will be opened. The implications of asking, seeking and knocking requires much perseverance and consistency. But don't despair, there is a guarantee for the end result, it just may not be at your request and your expectations. Know that despite of this, God has your best interests at heart.
Anyway.
Another thing I learned along the way was that when asking, when seeking, do I do it in faith, expecting God to give me this or do I doubt?
"But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does."James 1:6-8
I was reminded of this verse and I must say, it hit me like a slap in the face. It was a straight out rebuke, because I've read this verse many times, and I probably knew of the concept behind it but didn't apply it. I guess I was slightly ashamed of the fact that this didn't occur to me. But this is what it takes sometimes, a smack in the face. This verse described exactly how I felt, the restlessness, the unease, the uncertainty... It confronted me with realities I didn't want to face, like was I truly trusting God with this? Was I arrogant that I was trying to do this out of my own strength? Was I faithless enough to think that God would spite me because of my disbelief? So many doubts and thoughts. This rocked my world alright. The truth just stings like a cigar burn sometimes.
Nonetheless, it was very much needed and it added weight and significance in the fundamentals of prayer for me. My eyes were opened to the power of prayer and just what it means to ask God. Praying isn't asking God to solve my list of problem like a genie in a bottle. Give it a few rubs and bam, out comes the genie, and here's my list. No. Prayer is about trusting in the things I'm asking for and knowing God will answer me, in His time and His way. Prayer is about asking specifically and expecting fully.
Prayer is powerful because our God is powerful. A lot of times the power of prayer is lost on us because we forget who it is we're praying to and who we're asking all of these things. When we truly know that our God is the God who created everything, and who always has our best interests at heart, it gives prayer a whole new dimension and power. Now truly knowing that is a powerful thing. And this is the attitude we must have when we come before God. If we come before Him wishy-washy in our faith of things He will do, well, He'll just answer us in a wishy-washy way. He demands us of our faith. Trusting and having faith in Him is what pleases Him the most. Try asking God with a bit of faith, and see what He'll do in your life.
Nonetheless, it was very much needed and it added weight and significance in the fundamentals of prayer for me. My eyes were opened to the power of prayer and just what it means to ask God. Praying isn't asking God to solve my list of problem like a genie in a bottle. Give it a few rubs and bam, out comes the genie, and here's my list. No. Prayer is about trusting in the things I'm asking for and knowing God will answer me, in His time and His way. Prayer is about asking specifically and expecting fully.
Prayer is powerful because our God is powerful. A lot of times the power of prayer is lost on us because we forget who it is we're praying to and who we're asking all of these things. When we truly know that our God is the God who created everything, and who always has our best interests at heart, it gives prayer a whole new dimension and power. Now truly knowing that is a powerful thing. And this is the attitude we must have when we come before God. If we come before Him wishy-washy in our faith of things He will do, well, He'll just answer us in a wishy-washy way. He demands us of our faith. Trusting and having faith in Him is what pleases Him the most. Try asking God with a bit of faith, and see what He'll do in your life.
Oh and I should mention that with Matthew 7:7, the whole asking and receiving bit, you just cannot ask once and it will be given to you, seek once and you will find, knock once and the door will be opened. The implications of asking, seeking and knocking requires much perseverance and consistency. But don't despair, there is a guarantee for the end result, it just may not be at your request and your expectations. Know that despite of this, God has your best interests at heart.
Definitely agree with you in all your points. One interesting thing is that prayer is not really just about us asking, but more about us surrendering to Christ, and acknowledge His lordship in our lives =)
hope to catch up with you more later liz =]
just randomly decided to check your blog haha. i'm home off work cuz i'm sick... hectic past few weeks too.. but things will settle soon