A.S.K.

This past Sunday in Children's Church, God reminded me of something so simple, that I tend to forget so easily.

The following verse was read: Luk 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

I memorized this verse when I was just a little girl, but it stood out to me on Sunday. When you look at this verse in the amplified, it reads like this:

Luk 11:9 So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you.

If we are right with Him, He hears us the first time we pray! But sometimes God is just testing our faith and wanting to see how much we really want our answer. You may have been praying for something for a long time, but don't give up - just keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. And believe! This is something I struggle with sometimes. I find my self praying for something without having the expectancy that God is going to answer. Unbelief is a sin that we must turn from. Read the end of Hebrews chapter 3 and the beginning of Hebrews 4. We see that some could not enter in because of unbelief. God help us!

Luke 11:9 goes right along with Heb 11:6: But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

If you do not have faith, you cannot please God! If we have to diligently seek Him, that means we'll be praying for something more than once or twice. God wants to see how much you want it and how much faith you really have. Keep on praying!

1Jo 5:14 And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

1Jo 5:15 And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.

This is so very simple, yet at times so very hard for us to grasp! That's why Jesus wants us to be like little children. If you tell them you'll give them something, they just believe you. If we know that He hears us and we're praying according to His will, we HAVE the petitions we desired of Him! It's just a matter of time before he answers.

Read Acts chapter 10 about Cornelius. He was a man who feared God with all his house, gave much alms to the people, and was always praying. And this man was not even saved! I believe he was looking for more. God spoke to him in a vision and said, "Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God."

Because of his persistence, salvation was brought to him and his house. We don't know how long he had been praying, but his prayers and alms went as a memorial before God. I read the book "Prayer" by Verbal Bean, and the first chapter is called "Current and Memorial." He talks about how some prayers are the kind answered right away, and others are memorial prayers. They're stacking up. If you've only made 3 car payments, it's probably not 'paid in full.' It takes time!

I'll end with this thought, that I also got from Children's church. You can learn a lot there!

Ask

Seek

Knock

Just keep on asking with faith that God will reward your diligence!

Have a blessed day!