Since God knows what our needs are, He wants to provide for
His children, and He has the resources to do so, why must we pray to Him about
what we need? Why doesn’t He just do what He knows we need Him to do for us?
That’s an interesting line of questioning that sometimes makes its way into the conversations of people of faith. But you know, sometimes logic has no place in our dealings with God. And this is one of those times. For the Bible says, “Ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2).
The message in this verse is that even though God loves us, and though being omniscient (all-knowing), He knows what we need, we still must ask Him for what we want and need through prayer. To me, this is one of those simple biblical principles that we can either embrace and become more fully blessed, or we can ignore to our own neglect. How sad it would be for us to have a heavenly Father who is ready, willing, and able to supply our every need, but we have not because we ask not. And I believe that is the case with many Christians today.
On the other hand, I don't want to oversimplify the point. As our heavenly Father, God promises to meet our needs, but we must understand that our relationship with Him goes so much deeper than that. Oftentimes, He uses our needs as a vehicle to help us grow spiritually. For instance, as I pen this post, there are a number of things I have been praying to God about for several months but He has not yet granted them. During this process, something very powerful happens to me. It is that I must patiently wait on Him, and in turn I am learning how to walk by faith more perfectly as I wait.
I share this point because I believe it helps us to put the abovementioned verse in the proper perspective. According to the verse, we have not because we ask not, which implies that in order to receive we must ask. And it is true that when we pray to God in faith and according to His will, He promises to answer our prayers. But He wants us to view Him as more than just a Provider. He also wants us to pursue a passionate relationship with Him.
So to this end, oftentimes, God does not immediately grant us what we ask for. But He requires us to patiently wait on Him and to trust Him that in the process we might experience Him on a more intimate level. Nothwithstanding, God hears and answers the prayers of His children.
Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
That’s an interesting line of questioning that sometimes makes its way into the conversations of people of faith. But you know, sometimes logic has no place in our dealings with God. And this is one of those times. For the Bible says, “Ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2).
The message in this verse is that even though God loves us, and though being omniscient (all-knowing), He knows what we need, we still must ask Him for what we want and need through prayer. To me, this is one of those simple biblical principles that we can either embrace and become more fully blessed, or we can ignore to our own neglect. How sad it would be for us to have a heavenly Father who is ready, willing, and able to supply our every need, but we have not because we ask not. And I believe that is the case with many Christians today.
On the other hand, I don't want to oversimplify the point. As our heavenly Father, God promises to meet our needs, but we must understand that our relationship with Him goes so much deeper than that. Oftentimes, He uses our needs as a vehicle to help us grow spiritually. For instance, as I pen this post, there are a number of things I have been praying to God about for several months but He has not yet granted them. During this process, something very powerful happens to me. It is that I must patiently wait on Him, and in turn I am learning how to walk by faith more perfectly as I wait.
I share this point because I believe it helps us to put the abovementioned verse in the proper perspective. According to the verse, we have not because we ask not, which implies that in order to receive we must ask. And it is true that when we pray to God in faith and according to His will, He promises to answer our prayers. But He wants us to view Him as more than just a Provider. He also wants us to pursue a passionate relationship with Him.
So to this end, oftentimes, God does not immediately grant us what we ask for. But He requires us to patiently wait on Him and to trust Him that in the process we might experience Him on a more intimate level. Nothwithstanding, God hears and answers the prayers of His children.
Copyright ©2012 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
No comments:
Post a Comment