You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. -James 4:2b-3
“Why pray?” is the cry of many people, and, if we are honest, perhaps we have found the same thoughts in our minds. “It doesn’t make any difference, so why bother?” Does that hit a little too close to home?
John Piper says, “It’s amazing to think that God, the sovereign ruler of the universe, would ordain that prayers cause things to happen that would not happen if you didn’t pray.”
I don’t understand, and never expect to understand, the marriage between God’s sovereignty, His foreknowledge, and our prayers being folded into His purposes, bringing things about. But the instruction and conclusion are plain, are they not?
God invites us to come be with Him, to crawl up on His lap (so to speak) and spend time with our Abba, the intimate term accurately translated as “Daddy.” Amidst the rampant false teaching of “name it and claim it,” whether it be for riches or health, we must not go to the other extreme and ignore the opportunity given to us.
Luke 18:1 tells us to ask and stay encouraged: “And He (Jesus) told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”
That is our assignment for the week. Ask. Take your requests to the throne. Get together with your prayer partner. Don’t lose heart. Your prayers make a difference.
Chris is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, IL (M.Div.) and has served as a pastor in churches in the Midwest. Chris and his wife Marty have been married for nearly 40 years. Chris currently teaches the Fundamentals of the Faith class and serves in the Prayer Ministry here at Faith Bible Church.
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