YOU NEVER ASKED!

Luke 15:31 His Father said to him, “Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.

I used to read this parable and feel sorry for the older brother until I realised he’d had the opportunity to have twenty parties (or whatever he wanted), if he'd wanted them! He’d just never asked! God is saying the same thing to each one of us who belongs to Him. We’re part of His family, we have inherited everything through Jesus, but if we don’t ask for something then we won’t receive it. James 4:2 NLT Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.  

Jabez had the courage to ask for big blessings and he received them, because he asked! 1 Chronicles 4:10 NLT He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.

Jesus also told us to ask, seek, and knock, and not to give up. Sometimes we do ask but give up too soon, just before we were about to receive. We’ve said something like, “Oh, it’s not working! I can’t see things changing or being any different! It must not be God’s will!” And we missed the blessing because we gave in to doubt.

Just because God’s timing isn’t ours, doesn’t mean it’s not what He wants. He tells us in 3 John:2 KJV Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. There’s the will of God in a nutshell!😊

So, let’s just ask the Father for the desire that’s in our hearts! Better that than being resentful that God hasn’t given us something, like the older brother, when we never asked for it in the first place, or only asked for half of what we wanted because we didn’t like to ask for more, or gave up too soon and let the enemy steal it from us.

God’s heart is to bless us, so let’s keep praying and ask big prayers, keep believing the promises, keep standing on the word and do what Jesus said and just ask. In Jesus name. Amen.

Have a blessed weekend.x

WHAT WE NEED - ENDURANCE

Hebrews 10:36 ESV For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

I don’t know if you’ve ever climbed a steep hill where it required you to go through the leg aching, muscle complaining stage, but you knew you had to endure and keep going in order to reach the top. The satisfaction when you reached the goal was so worth it!😊

James 1:12 ESV Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. We all know some trials are harder than others but there is an amazing reward for sticking with it, for not giving way or giving up. The crown of life is worth our endurance! So whatever is happening with you, don’t give way, don’t give up! 

Colossians 1:11-12 NLT We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. …

What a wonderful prayer that is and we can pray it for one another. The only way to find joy in the trials and tests is to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to us, to draw on our source of all things - from God inside us. 

Paul told us it’s so important to pray for one another to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. He often asked for his partners to pray for them as they ministered, to be able to endure the beatings, the exhaustion, and the hardships they were experiencing.

We owe the early disciples so much for their endurance to make it possible for us to be able to receive all God has given to us in Jesus. Paul challenges us to follow their example and encourage one another to endure the trials of our faith so we all receive the reward of the crown of life. What a thought and what a reward!😊

Father we pray for each other that we will indeed be strengthened with all Your glorious power so we will have all the endurance and patience we need. May we be filled with Your joy and we thank You for it. In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo: July on Unsplash