Praying with Expectancy

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8 NLT) 

How persistent are you? How many times do you ask God for something? Do you ask once and then leave it alone? Do you ask continuously? You should keep asking until your prayers are answered.  I think that children are the most determined when it comes to getting what they want.  Children will continue to ask their parents for something until they receive it. Sometimes the parent’s answer is “later” “maybe” or “not yet.” It may even be “no.” However, many children still maintain a tenacious and expectant spirit. A recent example of this is my daughter requesting eight dollars for a special lunch that's offered at her school on Fridays. I swear she would not let me forget about those eight dollars...every day, she asked until she received. She made her request known. There was no doubt about what she wanted and she made sure both of her parents knew it. 

With the same spirit, Christians should continue to seek God. He instructs us to keep on seeking, keep on asking, and keep on knocking. This lets us know that what we’re asking for will not always be given immediately. Sometimes His answer is “no” “later” or “not yet.” However, God is more concerned with hearing from us so He desires that we continue to seek Him.

Prayer for Today: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness. Keep me from becoming weary when seeking You. Give me perseverance and strength as I wait on You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pray About Everything

(Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Philippians 4:6 NLT)

My daughter has a heart for prayer. Before dinner most days, she offers to say prayer before we eat. Funny thing is that she often prays about everything but dinner and my husband or I will have to interject and remind her to give thanks for the food on the table.

Her prayers range from giving thanks that she’s going to kindergarten to thanking God for her toys or her brother or her friends in her class. She will thank God for the cups, plates, utensils, juice and stove. Recently, we had a storm come through that caused us to lose power. Every since then, she’s thanked God for the power and for a working TV, refrigerator, stove, etc.

My husband and I joke about her long prayers that have nothing to do with the occasion (dinner) but there is something to be said about her heart and the faith of a child. As adults we take so many things for granted, but what if we truly took everything to God in prayer? What if we had faith as a child? Believing that God hears us? Trusting in His character without the cares of life clouding our faith?

As I challenge myself, I challenge you to take everything to God in prayer today and trust Him without question. Even though God is all knowing, I do believe He wants to be invited into every area of our lives. Will you join me in drawing closer to God through prayer?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the life lessons that You teach us through our children. As I draw nearer to You today by pouring out my heart, I trust and believe that You care for me and are drawing nearer to me as well. Teach me to truly bring everything to You in prayer and to pray without ceasing. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Let Me Wipe Your Tears

(Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:11)

Lately, my mornings have not been going as planned. The general plan is to dress myself and then wake my children to get them ready. Since we’re totally off track, my children get out of bed before I’m ready, thus slowing us down and usually adding chaos to our morning routine.

My toddler is on a path to get into everything that he shouldn’t. This particular morning, he was going through my bathroom cabinet space pulling out my feather comb. Problem with this is that the handle is long with a pointy end. Of course I took it away several times but the final time, he couldn’t take it anymore. He had a fit! A stream of tears and an extremely pouty face followed.

In the midst of that, my daughter did something that both surprised and encouraged me. She sat down on the bathroom floor next to him and said, “Let me wipe your tears,” and proceeded to do just that. To my amazement, he stopped crying. I couldn’t believe it. In that moment, the Holy Spirit nudged me. We should show that kind of love to the people in our lives. Loving them through their pain instead of judging them. Sometimes all it takes is a listening ear and someone to wipe away the tears. 

Whose tears can you wipe today?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, give me a heart that is loving and pure. Help me not to be judgmental but to show the kind of love that pleases You and encourages those You place in my path. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Just Because You Cannot See

Hey guys!

I know...it's been a long time. I'm working on doing better so here I am! :-) I'm going to spend the next several months primarily talking about how my interactions with my children often remind me of God's love for me. I hope that these will entertain you a little and inspire you much.

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” (Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV)

We were riding in two separate cars. My husband in his car and myself and kids in the other. We had just left Firestone, paying for the repairs on my husband’s vehicle and were on our way back home. It was late in the evening and my daughter had already taken a short nap that day but apparently it wasn’t enough because she was relatively cranky. Everything bothered her and she whined and questioned everything.

So during the drive home, she whined and constantly asked where her daddy was. I kept telling her that he was right behind us. He left immediately after we did. After going through this series of the same questions and same responses about ten times, she says, “I can’t see him” and then continues to whine more. I then reminded her, “Just because you cannot see him, doesn’t mean he isn’t there!”

Somewhere in between my agitation at her constant whining, the Lord reminded me of His Presence. “Natasha, just because you cannot see Me, doesn’t mean I am not here.” My moment of agitation with her immediately shifted to God’s patience with me.

Hopefully I am not the only one who sometimes get frustrated when things aren’t going the way I think they should go and wonder exactly where God is and how He is going to work the situation out. I’m going to assume that I’m not and simply remind you that just because you cannot “physically” see Him, doesn’t mean He isn’t there.

Has there been an area of your life where it seems that God is not present? An unanswered prayer perhaps? Today I encourage you to take a few moments and meditate on today’s scripture and to think back over the area where you feel He isn’t present. You will likely find that He is present but not in the way that you have expected.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the reminder that You are ever present and will never leave me nor forsake me. In tough times, help me find comfort in Your presence. In Jesus' name, Amen.