Keep on Asking!
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Matt 7:7
I am an educator at heart. I have homeschooled two of my boys from kindergarten through high school. I have taught Sunday School for many years. Sometimes, I even fancy myself a bit of a problem solver. So when my youngest began to have some learning obstacles, I tried many different techniques. I researched curriculum, I rearranged our schedule. I shortened teaching times. I added word games and flash cards. I began doing a spiral review method. Blah, blah, blah.
Then one day in my despair… It hit me. I have not been praying about this. I have just been strategizing. Why am I so slow to learn? Why is prayer so often overlooked in my life as an obvious answer?
Last fall, after teaching a quarter in Sunday School on prayer, I decided to break down and actually have a prayer journal. You know the one, the one I had “meant” to do it for at least twenty years. I consoled myself with the fact that I could remember the requests without needing to write them down. But nevertheless, I decided to give it a whirl.
One of my friends was facing a seemingly insurmountable hurdle. The chances of a positive outcome seemed non-existent. But because I love my friend dearly, I jotted it on my prayer list and gave it a daily once-over. After many months, I had the oddest leading, that I should strike through the prayer request as if it had already been answered. I hesitated. But the nudge wouldn’t go away. I obeyed. Then for several days, as I prayed, I paused over her need. Time and again, striking through it. I almost wore a hole in my journal! In just a matter of days, my friend called with the most blessed news! Not only had God canceled the need. He had prospered them!
All of a sudden I was on a prayer high! I couldn’t wait to write it down and wait for D-day when I could scribble a” PTL!” by the request! I was like a kid with a new toy.
That is around the time it hit me, put school on the list. Out of the blue, all of my strategies begin to gain traction. He completed the book left unfinished last year while simultaneously making strides in his current year. But reading! That one was a slower mountain to move. But today- May 7th- he finished school for the year. Several weeks early. And his reading has improved exponentially. Because we serve a prayer-answering God!!!
So many needs are slow to jump off the prayer list and onto the praise sheet. But as I practice diligence and pray on in faith, remarkable results are starting to roll in. Prayers can be like seeds, at times. You have to nurture them and coax them, but one day, a beautiful, robust plant will break through the soil!
Some prayers are more like small plants, ready to transplant and bear fruit in short order. Other prayers are like hot house plants nurtured and grown, ready to offer immediate benefits! But you will never know what kind yours will be until you “plant” your requests with Jesus.
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.”
Persistence and faith are key. A nagging problem? Pray about it! A need that knocks you to your knees? Pray about it! Prayer is spiritual work. It is spiritual warfare. It is productive! Don’t give up, child of God. Go to your offensive position- on your knees. And get ready to praise! The answer is on its way!
Dear Lord, there is not an area of my life that I don’t need to your help. I need you to show me how to follow you. How to love my husband. How to train my children. How to pay bills. I need your direction and assistance to make my to-do list. Lord, I invite- I welcome you- into all that pertains to me. Thank you for your faithfulness! Lord, teach me to pray!
Mothers’ Day Prayer
Lord, I pray especially today for women who have lost mothers. Comfort them through their Mother’s Day. For those who have mothers that do not know You, Father, we pray that they will come to know you in saving faith. For those with lost children, minister to their needs, tender their hearts. Draw them close to you! For those who are overwhelmed, overextended and under-loved, I lift them before you! Thank you, Jesus, that as you walked the face of the Earth, you showed love, compassion and honor to women. Release those held captive. Deliver the oppressed, bind up the broken hearted! In Jesus’ Name, I ask! Amen.
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PTL! Love this post, Sherri. I’ve never actually kept a prayer journal but after reading this I’m thinking about starting one. Happy Mother’s Day.
Thank you, Bernadine! I love the journal because it reminds me of His faithfulness!
Powerful message about prayer, Sherri. I often lose heart when praying the same prayer over and over. Thank you for the reminder to be persistent in our prayer life and don’t lose heart.