Post 199 Asking Is Required To Receive
Asking is required to receive an answered prayer from God, and obedience is the key that opens the ear of God.
I’m sure many of us have thought to ourselves that we have no reason to pray for healing or for anything for that matter because “God knows what’s going on in my life, He will help me if He wants.”
I think we can find an answer to this wrong notion in Scripture.
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”(Mark 4:35-41)
In these verses, Jesus knew what was going on, He was right there with the disciples in the boat as it was being tossed about by the wind and filling up with water- however He didn’t intervene until the Apostles asked Him to do something. When we pray we are showing the Lord that we believe and trust that He is capable of helping us in our time of need.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (James 5:16)
This verse shows the power of prayer. The Lord ascended into heaven and left us with the powerful Holy Spirit. He told us:
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.”(John 14:12)
Prayer can be a powerful witness of the Holy Spirit within us. We must first believe that the Word of God is real, active and powerful and that we were given the right to use it as children of God. God didn’t leave us to fend for ourselves in this life and simply rely on luck. No, the Lord gave His Word to all people and those who follow Jesus and live in submission to His ways- will overcome illness, poverty and spiritual death.
God’s Word has creative power even today.
Memorize Scripture and use it. Tell the Lord “you said Lord, if I follow your commandments and teachings I will be blessed, my children will be blessed, my enemies will be defeated and all that I touch will prosper and succeed.” (Deut 28)
Living “in Christ” or in submission to Christ creates a powerful, protected life. We can use the Word of God as a child would use something his or her father owns. I have used the Word of God with full belief that the Lord heard me and I had a spontaneous healing miracle. Before I chose to be a follower of God, my life was based on luck. After I decided to put every aspect of my life in submission to the Word of God- my life greatly improved and my prayer life became powerful.
“We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly person who does his will.”(John 9:31)
The key statement in that verse is, “those who do His will.” This means there needs to be self examination and more importantly time alone in the Word of God. This is when the Holy Spirit can convict us of behavior the Lord abhors: gossip, selfish ambition, excessive use of alcohol, secular television, secular music and the like.
Followers of the Lord have aligned every aspect of their life with the Lord. They don’t purposefully engage in anything the Lord abhors, and if a slip up occurs a quick confession and desire to follow more closely is often the response.
A life like this is powerful.
” I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead.”(Eph 1:17-19)
Food for thought
Lisa
