Ask in Faith
The Lord has been talking to me lately about asking for things in prayer—specific things—and learning to ask with increased faith. As I was considering this today, the Lord brought back to memory a situation from a couple of years ago.
I had been visiting my brother and his family in California, and one evening we decided to go to the beach. We arrived at the shore when the sun was setting, and the sky was filled with a myriad of colors. The salty air echoed with the sound of crashing waves and after a little while of playing in the water and digging our toes in the sand, several dolphins appeared jumping and dancing in and out of the rolling and cresting waves. It was so unexpected and brought all of us such joy.
It wasn’t until later my brother shared with me that a few minutes before the dolphins appeared, as we had all been talking, laughing, and having fun—he had breathed an internal prayer, a simple heart-felt request, sharing with the Lord that he would really like to see some dolphins that evening.
He said as soon as the prayer slipped from his heart, he retracted it thinking it was silly to ask God for such a small thing when God had so many important prayers to answer. But minutes later, God in His grace answered my brother’s prayer and gave him the desire of his heart. He let my brother know that He, his Heavenly Father, saw him and heard him and took great pleasure in answering his simple request.
Jesus said, “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. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:7-11 And in Psalms, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4
The Bible promises that our Heavenly Father will give us good gifts; all we have to do is ask! When we hide ourselves in Him and find ourselves delighting in HIM, it is actually His will to give us the desires of our heart. In the situation with my brother, God was encouraging Him to ask in faith. He just needed to trust that the Father was willing to give him the good gift his heart desired: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.” Hebrews 11:1,2
Today, perhaps you need to be reminded that your Father in Heaven does indeed see you and hear you and is willing to give you good gifts. Perhaps today He is reminding you that all you need to do is ask in faith, trusting that He will give you the desires of your heart. Do not allow the occasional “no” to cause you to lose heart, but instead cling to Him and keep on asking.
Katie Botello
FBC Aztec Member