Message #12 (of 20) from the PrayerPower radio series
"Jesus' Teaching on Prayer"

by Kaye Johns

Jesus teaches us not only to ask, but to ask daily for what we need, for the essentials of life.

When Jesus first began teaching His disciples to pray, as part of His model prayer of Matthew 6, following worship and surrender, He said we are to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." [Matthew 6:11, KJV] In saying "daily," Jesus is teaching us to focus on the needs of each day, rather than asking once for all the bread we will ever need.

Asking daily ensures that we acknowledge our total dependence upon our God for the most fundamental and basic needs of our lives. We are as dependent upon His provision as the Israelites were in the desert when they gathered His manna every morning. We are to confess that same total dependence upon God.

However, earlier in this passage, Jesus has taught, "...your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." [Matthew 6:8] Why, then, if God already knows what we need, do we have to ask? Certainly, having our Father know our need is not the same thing as having Him provide for that need. Jesus is teaching us an important kingdom rule: although God is almighty and sovereign and can give anyone anything at any time, He chooses to wait on our prayers--if not always, certainly most of the time.

Pray with me now -- Father, are You holding back in any area of our lives because we have failed to ask? Please show us if You are, for we ask in Jesus’s name. Amen.

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