Prayer Requests

Luke 22:42 - Father, if You are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me.  Yet I want Your will to be done, not mine.

How often do we pray, but don't ask God for anything?  Probably not much (if ever).  When a friend comes to us and says, "Can you pray with/for me that God will (fill in the blank)?"  Do we say no?  I would hope not.

I have heard some (not many, but some) people say that they won't ask God for something, because it is something they want, not something they need.  I'm sorry, but that doesn't exactly make sense to me.  I know I'm not a stupid person (and certainly not the smartest), but I just don't get that.

I think Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane here, is a good example of praying for something you want as long as you seek His will to be done.  Jesus wasn't afraid to ask God for something.  Jesus did ask that God's will be done in the situation, but He still wasn't afraid to ask for something first.

God knows our hearts.  He knows what we need, and what we want.  But if we don't ask for it, He's not going to give it to us.  Just like when you give your kids a gift for their birthday or Christmas.  If they say, "Well I wanted this."  What would your response be (other than they should be grateful for anything)?  "How was I supposed to know if you didn't ask?  Was it on your list?"  Of course God knows, but if we don't ask, He won't answer.

David prayed regularly for deliverance from His enemies.  Did he need that?  That could be debatable.  He WANTED that, so that he would be able to serve God and experience more of what God had planned for him.  Is that greedy?  I don't think so.  I watched a movie once where one of the characters asked another why they weren't pursuing their dreams.  The one responded, "Well that was just something I wanted, not something I could have."  To which the other said, "You don't dream right."

We can't be afraid to ask for something from God.  As long as we are doing so with the understanding that we want His will to be done first and foremost, He will listen to our prayer requests.

Dear Father, thank You for reminding me to seek Your will above my own.  I pray that when I come to You in prayer, I will seek Your will to be done above anything I may want done.  I pray that I will seek Your will in any and everything I do, before I do it.  Today I pray for those that are hesitant to ask You for something.  Perhaps they are afraid that if they don't get it, it will cause them to be mad at You and possibly reject You.  Father, please put a calm and a peace on their heart so that they will truly realize that sometimes the answer is "No," and that it is okay to hear "No."  I pray that should this be the case, they will not turn away in anger towards You, but praise You in the hallway until You open the door You want them to go through.  In the precious name of Jesus I pray, Amen!



God Bless!!!