Ask And You Will Receive

Ask And You Will Receive "Whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them." Mark 11:24 Before our prayers can mean anything to God, they must first mean something to us. Mindlessly repeating a prayer we memorized in childhood, or vaguely asking God to bless everyone, everywhere--that isn't authentic prayer. Prayer is speaking to God about the deepest concerns of our heart. We don't have to speak our prayers out loud, and use our most perfect English, as God does not care what our words are, but they need to express our innermost thoughts, our prayers must come from our heart. Communicating with God through our prayers is a one on one relationship. God listens to us when we seek Him through prayer, with our heart open wide for Him to see. When we are serious about our prayer time, we need to seek Him and not be bashful to let our minds and our thoughts talk to Him about the things that are going on in our lives, even the little things. God cares about the big things and choices we make that affect us, but He is also interested in the mundane, the little choices, the irritations, the temptations, the stress we feel, the busyness of our daily life, and all our struggles, even the small ones. The source of true prayer is a heart attuned to God. It is a life lived in loving obedience to the Father. God delights in the prayer of His children--prayers that express our love for Him, prayers that share our deepest burdens and struggles with Him. Don't pray casually or thoughtlessly, but "come boldly to the throne of grace, that you may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:16. I would encourage each of you to spend time with God each morning when you wake up. Thank Him for all your blessings, and then share your burdens with Him. God will hear you and give you peace, and lighten your load. Robert W. Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Seven January 10