So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. Matthew 7:11
During the weekend sermon, we were encouraged to pray prayers that are impossible to us. We were encouraged to pray prayers that require divine intervention that only God can do. Here at Sagebrush, we call these big, hairy, audacious prayers. If we believe God is all-powerful, and He is, these are the types of prayers we ought to be praying as followers of Jesus. When God answers these prayers in ways that only He can, the only explanation is that God moved and worked in those areas.
Jesus taught about prayer in Matthew 7, reminding His followers that God gives good gifts to us when we come to Him and pray. In this chapter, He makes a statement directed at parents. He says, "You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!" (verses 9-10). In this verse, Jesus taught that good parents know how to give good gifts. After explaining this, He moved on to talk about their Heavenly Father. "So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children," He said, "how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him" (verse 11). In other words, even the best parents are only glimpses of God the Father and His capacity to give good gifts.
My friend, when we pray, we must remember that God is the ultimate gift giver who wants to give us good gifts. He knows how to give good gifts. Even more, He knows how to give gifts to us. So we must start praying big prayers, asking God to do big, seemingly impossible things. We have to pray big, hairy, audacious prayers. This does not mean that God will give us everything we ask for. You see, some of the things we ask Him for are not good gifts and are not in our best interest. It does, however, mean that God gives good gifts, even if His gifts are different than we had hoped. And sometimes, the seemingly impossible gifts we ask for align with His will, and He does give them to us when we ask. So let's pray big, hair, audacious prayers and wait for Him to respond.
Pray today with the intensity of Elijah Pray earnestly and persistently. Pray big, hairy, and audacious prayers that only God can accomplish. Pray for God to do big things in your life, your friends' and families' lives, and the world. Let's believe that God is big enough to do anything.
Matthew 7:1-11
“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.
6 “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.
Effective Prayer
7 “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. 8 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? 10 Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! 11 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.
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