Fire Cracker Prayers
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James 1:5,6 NLT
If you need wisdom--if you want to know what God wants you to do--ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
As I read this passage this morning, I thought of one of my friends who discussed some of his thoughts about healing prayer at our recent healing service. He used a visual reference that I think is just great. He suggested that when one prays – for healing or for anything else – one should pray expectantly! Remember Jesus told us that we do not receive because we don’t ask. He meant we don’t ask with that expectancy my friend talked about. He equated it to a fire cracker – when you light the fuse of a fire cracker, you expect a bang! That’s how we should think about prayers if we expect them to be truly effective.
I think it’s interesting that James assures us God will not resent our asking Him for something. In fact, I think He wants us to ask for what we need – so that He can give it to us! I don’t mean a raise at work or a new car or material things. I mean what we really need. Peace of mind. Joy. Strength of character. Blessings more than we can imagine.
I’ve been in that unsettled place before – in fact I fall into it more often than I like to admit. We all do though, when we try to manage life on our own. When we get so busy we don’t have time to stop and think who made this world we live in, and in fact, who made us, we do feel tossed about by the wind. When we seek God’s wisdom of how to live our lives, we have a better life. This is another one of those “it’s so simple, but so difficult to do” scenarios, isn’t it!?
God loves to give us blessings! He waits for us to ask for them. That’s more than I can expect from anyone or anything else in this world. It’s not a free ride – just a free gift. Faith is all we need to receive God’s abundance, extravagance, indulgent and incomprehensible grace! Wow! And He waits for us to ask for it! Now that’s a deal I just can’t pass up!
My prayer today is that you lift a “fire cracker” prayer to God. And that you hold your ears as you wait for the answer He sends.
Mary
