Be careful what you ask for

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April 9, 2020 – We often use that statement in a jesting manner as if we won’t be happy once we receive whatever it is that we’ve requested of God. Oh, how far we have fallen from a true understanding of you Lord God! I write that statement at the top of this page today to remind me of your promise in scripture to give us anything we ask for in your name. I don’t want my prayers to be flippant or selfish and thus meaningless. God, sometimes praying can be so disingenuous for me. Not that I don’t want to connect with you genuinely, but that often I am not in the right frame of mind when I pray. Lord, help me be a better listener that I might pray for the right things, that your answers to prayers might work in union with the work you are already setting in motion—the work you desire to do. Help me remember and realize daily the gravity and responsibility of prayer. May I always carefully consider all that I ask for in your name.

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I’ve heard many pastors make qualifying statements in regard to this promise Jesus made. I actually believe Jesus meant what he said. Most of us don’t ever really ask for something in his name. Our prayers have become lifeless and routine—an exercise in repetition more than anything else. If you want to experience the true power of prayer, you have to learn to walk with Jesus. You have to learn to pray at all times in the Spirit and there has to be a sincere desire within for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. You should ask the Holy Spirit what you should pray, listen intently, and then pray confidently IN JESUS’ NAME.