Day 13 - 21 Days of Prayer & Fasting
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Day 13 - James 4:1-3
SCRIPTURE:
1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
LESSON:
Pastor Matthew Stence shared a story this past year about his son Clark. They were sitting at the dinner table and Matthew noticed that there seemed to be something bothering Clark. So he asked Clark if everything was ok. Clark responded that he wanted another piece of bread but that he was afraid to ask. Matthew quickly reassured his son that he was welcome to take another piece of bread. That’s what it was there for!
This story reflects a deeper spiritual truth that we all need to remember. Our heavenly father wants to give us good gifts. Sometimes we don’t have what we need because we haven’t stopped to ask God for it! He’s not up in heaven actively trying to hold back blessings from our life. The opposite is true! He wants to unleash blessings on your life!
I wonder why we don’t ask God for what we need? Maybe it’s a lack of faith in his ability. Or a lack of faith in his love for us. Or perhaps our guilt and shame causes us to think that there is no way that God would even want to bless us. Maybe we are afraid that a NO is coming. We don’t expect a yes so we don’t even ask.
The truth is the opposite. God wants to bless us. His goodness to us and provision for us does not depend on our worthiness. We are not worthy! But we are WORTH enough to God that he gave his own son for our redemption!
“You do not have, because you do not ask.”
You might say, “Pastor, I asked God for something but didn’t get what I asked for!” James addresses this as well. When we ask and do not receive, it could be that we are asking for the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Because God wants to bless us he doesn’t always give us what we want. He knows what is best for us.
My oldest son is now a teenager and he has a few odd jobs where he earns money. But he is still required to ask me before he purchases any large items. There have been a few times that I have told him he can’t buy an item. Of course he gets upset and gives me the oldest teenage question in the book… WHY??? I try to explain to him that just because you want something doesn’t mean that you should buy it! Save your money! If you save enough money then you will be able to buy anything you want! My NO is actually a YES to something better!
In the same way, God’s NO is really a call for us to not give into our temporal desires and instead to seek something better! His NO is actually a YES to a better way. God wants to give us the best! So sometimes He says NO.
Pastor Matthew Stence shared a story this past year about his son Clark. They were sitting at the dinner table and Matthew noticed that there seemed to be something bothering Clark. So he asked Clark if everything was ok. Clark responded that he wanted another piece of bread but that he was afraid to ask. Matthew quickly reassured his son that he was welcome to take another piece of bread. That’s what it was there for!
This story reflects a deeper spiritual truth that we all need to remember. Our heavenly father wants to give us good gifts. Sometimes we don’t have what we need because we haven’t stopped to ask God for it! He’s not up in heaven actively trying to hold back blessings from our life. The opposite is true! He wants to unleash blessings on your life!
I wonder why we don’t ask God for what we need? Maybe it’s a lack of faith in his ability. Or a lack of faith in his love for us. Or perhaps our guilt and shame causes us to think that there is no way that God would even want to bless us. Maybe we are afraid that a NO is coming. We don’t expect a yes so we don’t even ask.
The truth is the opposite. God wants to bless us. His goodness to us and provision for us does not depend on our worthiness. We are not worthy! But we are WORTH enough to God that he gave his own son for our redemption!
“You do not have, because you do not ask.”
You might say, “Pastor, I asked God for something but didn’t get what I asked for!” James addresses this as well. When we ask and do not receive, it could be that we are asking for the wrong things for the wrong reasons. Because God wants to bless us he doesn’t always give us what we want. He knows what is best for us.
My oldest son is now a teenager and he has a few odd jobs where he earns money. But he is still required to ask me before he purchases any large items. There have been a few times that I have told him he can’t buy an item. Of course he gets upset and gives me the oldest teenage question in the book… WHY??? I try to explain to him that just because you want something doesn’t mean that you should buy it! Save your money! If you save enough money then you will be able to buy anything you want! My NO is actually a YES to something better!
In the same way, God’s NO is really a call for us to not give into our temporal desires and instead to seek something better! His NO is actually a YES to a better way. God wants to give us the best! So sometimes He says NO.
PRAYER:
Father, help us to ask you for the things that we need. We know that you want us to ask and we know that you want to give us good things! Please help us to ask for the right things for the right reasons. Keep us from the things that we shouldn’t have and help us to trust you when you say NO. Thank you God for your faithfulness to us! Amen.
Father, help us to ask you for the things that we need. We know that you want us to ask and we know that you want to give us good things! Please help us to ask for the right things for the right reasons. Keep us from the things that we shouldn’t have and help us to trust you when you say NO. Thank you God for your faithfulness to us! Amen.
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1 Comment
I wholeheartedly agree with this passage and the comments added by the Pastor. I have been witness to God working and blessing, not just in my life, but many people that I have known. My sentiments are that not only should we ask for our own desires, wants or needs, but we should also ask our brothers in faith to help us pray for exactly what we are requesting. And as well, pray on behalf, for those who ask us to help them pray for a particular purpose. Core Value… Pray first, Pray Always. Thank you Pastor for sharing your story, and in turn sharing exactly the need for what your desire is for an outcome. I will join you in praying for you and your neighbor and I believe that God will answer our prayers.