WHAT WE SHOULD ASK FOR

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Teach me, Lord, the way of Your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.

Give me understanding, so that I may keep Your law and obey it with all my heart.

Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight.

Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your word.

Fulfill your promise to Your servant, so that You may be feared.

Take away the disgrace I dread, for Your laws are good.

How I long for Your precepts! In Your righteousness preserve my life.

Psalm 119:33-40

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Christians consider how to gain spiritual guidance in life, it’s always a good first step to examine what Jesus had to say. Consider His words in this verse:

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Luke 11:9-11

Ask and it will be given to you.

The words of Jesus seem simple enough right? Just ask Him for whatever we want and we’ll get it.

If it were only that simple.

For to gain a full understanding of this matter of asking the Lord for things, we need to consider all the scriptures to include this passage from 1 John:

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of Him.  1 John 5:14-15

Now we have some clarity, some clearer definition toward this matter of asking for things from the Lord God Almighty.

How should we go about asking?

Well, the first thing we should do is ask the Lord to reveal His will.

Why?

Because how will we know what to ask for if we don’t know His will?

Look back at the 1 John passage that says:

If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of Him.

Once we ask for the Lord to reveal His will, then we ask for all the things we need for His will to be done and that will be what we will receive. That’s a lot different than us just asking for anything. Instead of the decision on what to ask for being based on our desires, we find our asking based on the desires of the Lord. And when our focus is in that direction, we will find ourselves directed to ask for things like we find mentioned in our passage from the 119th Psalm. Look at those words again:

Teach me, Lord, the way of Your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.

Give me understanding, so that I may keep Your law and obey it with all my heart.

Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight.

Turn my heart toward Your statutes and not toward selfish gain.

Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to Your word.

Fulfill your promise to Your servant, so that You may be feared.

Take away the disgrace I dread, for Your laws are good.

How I long for Your precepts! In Your righteousness preserve my life.

Direct your asking toward the desires of the Lord and you will find yourself requesting any or all of the following:

1. Teach me to walk in Your ways Lord all the days of my life through Your Holy Word and Spirit.

2. Give me understanding so I can be compliant to Your word and will, obeying it with all my heart.

3. Direct my life through Your holy and precious Word because it’s there that I find delight.

4. Center my heart on Your desires and away from selfish gain.

5. Turn my eyes toward You and things of eternal value so I will not look at worthless things.

6. Preserve my life now and forever through Your word, will, and way.

7. Fulfill Your promises Lord so that everyone sees Your faithfulness and respects who You are.

8. Remove my guilt Lord by reassuring me of Your forgiveness, goodness, mercy, and love.

Want to gain spiritual guidance in life?

You have to know what to ask for from the Lord. When you do, when you, like the psalmist yearn for the Word of the Lord to lead you, then rest assured that His righteousness will dominate everything about you and the Lord will preserve you now and for all eternity.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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