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Are we limiting God?
Message
#1 (of 20) from the PrayerPower radio series
I wonder if sometimes we do limit God because we fail to take our responsibility for intercessory prayer seriously. Have we really considered that having the needs of our loved ones met--not only in basic, fundamental ways, but exceedingly, abundantly--is, to a great degree, our responsibility? Why else would Jesus have told us to ask for our daily bread [Matthew 6:11]? If it were going to be automatically provided, why ask? Why teach us to "ask, seek and knock"? [Matthew 7:7] Or, to pray persistently, like the neighbor asking for bread [Luke 11:5-8], or the widow who went to the judge [Luke 18:1-8]? And Jesus didn’t stop there. He personally gave us at least eight prayer promises which tell us that as His committed disciples we may have, literally, whatever we ask for in prayer [Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 11:23-24; John 14:13,14; 15:7,16; 16:22,24]--provided we are living lives that meet the conditions of the promises. If God intended to give us what we need without our asking, why would Jesus tell us we can have whatever we ask? If God were going to automatically provide, there would be no need for such promises. James teaches: "You have not because you ask not, or because you ask amiss." [James 4:2-3] Surely he didn’t mean we and others don’t have anything from God because we don’t ask, or because we’re asking without meeting the conditions of the promises. Or did he?
Pray with me now -- Lord, please don’t let us or those we love fail to receive Your blessing because of our failure to pray, for we ask in Jesus’ name, amen.
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