October 13 2013
If You Believe, You Will Receive Whatever You Ask For In Prayer.
Luke 5:18-20 (NIV)
Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
Do you ever pray for other people, and ask God to help them in some way? In the selected verses, Jesus tells the men who brought a person who could not walk, and presented him before Jesus so that He could heal him. Jesus did heal him, but not because this man’s faith, but because of the faith of those who presented him to Jesus. Therefore, when you present someone to Jesus through your prayer, the person may be healed of helped, because of your faith in praying. Therefore, if you have faith in Jesus’ ability and desire to heal those in need, and you pray expecting something good to happen, it will likely happen.
It is very important that you first believe in Jesus before you pray, because as the writer of Hebrews tells us we must believe that Jesus exists before He will answer our request. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) You may note that this verse does not actually say anything about Jesus answering your prayers, but it does indicate “that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Most people reading this commentary probably believe that Jesus exists, but it may be that sometimes when we pray, there may be some doubt that your prayer will in fact be answered.
This doubt may come because of the severity of the disease or situation of the person you are praying for. We need to remember some of the biblical accounts we have read, which include Jesus or His disciples raising someone from the dead! Now that is a very serious condition in deed! In our prayer we may inadvertently put a limit on what God can do, based on some past experiences in our prayer life! Do you actually have a prayer life?” Do you ever drop everything, and just talk to Jesus? Paul writes about praying continually but do you use this option to avoid actually taking a time to pray? I do! Yes, I’m working on this personal problem.
I remember reading the verses in Daniel about the great faith that Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego displayed, even to the point of giving over their very life to God for Him to decide their fate. What was most amazing to me was their faith in God without regard to whether God would save them or not! Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Daniel 3:16-18) Pay special attention to the line, “he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
“But even if he does not” choose to save us, we will still only worship and honor our God! Do you think so highly about our God, when it seems our prayer was not answered? A good friend once told me to be prepared for something good to happen every time you pray. Another friend once said not to look at God as a vending machine; we put in something, and expect God to answer our prayer exactly as we expected it. Sometimes God’s answer is different than we expected. Sometimes God’s answer is “just wait a while!” Sometimes God’s answer is “No!” In such a case God knows what was requested was not good for the recipient! The recipient may have been you, if it was a prayer for yourself.
Are you praying for someone but you really do not think your prayer is going to be answered, because the situation is too dire? Do not put limits on God by assuming He will not or cannot handle your request. Everything you see was created by God, so therefore, anything you could think of to pray for God can do! However, the things of this world are not the ultimate answer to any prayer. Eternity waits for all those who know and love the Lord! Everything you see is temporary and cannot be taken with you, when you go back to be with the Lord. So praying for things is somewhat shortsighted. Of course, being blessed by God with possessions is not a sin, unless you hold them in too high regard.
Do you ever wonder how your prayers are heard in heaven? Many of the Scriptures written about heaven talk about a loud voice, and it makes me wonder, if our prayers are coming through loudly, or are they more like whispers to God. When a follower of Jesus prays does this prayer reverberate through heaven? When someone prays, but they do not know Jesus, is there any sound at all? When someone says something like, “Try praying it can’t hurt!” does such a pray get heard in heaven or hell? Would you try to converse with someone you believe does not exist?
We have been given the right to pray to the God who created the universe, and believe it, He listens! Next time you pray, please first think to who you are praying, and thank God for such a right! Jesus sums it up well for us. Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig-tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matthew 21:21-22)
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Luke 5:18-20 (NIV)
Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven."
Do you ever pray for other people, and ask God to help them in some way? In the selected verses, Jesus tells the men who brought a person who could not walk, and presented him before Jesus so that He could heal him. Jesus did heal him, but not because this man’s faith, but because of the faith of those who presented him to Jesus. Therefore, when you present someone to Jesus through your prayer, the person may be healed of helped, because of your faith in praying. Therefore, if you have faith in Jesus’ ability and desire to heal those in need, and you pray expecting something good to happen, it will likely happen.
It is very important that you first believe in Jesus before you pray, because as the writer of Hebrews tells us we must believe that Jesus exists before He will answer our request. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. (Hebrews 11:6) You may note that this verse does not actually say anything about Jesus answering your prayers, but it does indicate “that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Most people reading this commentary probably believe that Jesus exists, but it may be that sometimes when we pray, there may be some doubt that your prayer will in fact be answered.
This doubt may come because of the severity of the disease or situation of the person you are praying for. We need to remember some of the biblical accounts we have read, which include Jesus or His disciples raising someone from the dead! Now that is a very serious condition in deed! In our prayer we may inadvertently put a limit on what God can do, based on some past experiences in our prayer life! Do you actually have a prayer life?” Do you ever drop everything, and just talk to Jesus? Paul writes about praying continually but do you use this option to avoid actually taking a time to pray? I do! Yes, I’m working on this personal problem.
I remember reading the verses in Daniel about the great faith that Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego displayed, even to the point of giving over their very life to God for Him to decide their fate. What was most amazing to me was their faith in God without regard to whether God would save them or not! Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." (Daniel 3:16-18) Pay special attention to the line, “he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
“But even if he does not” choose to save us, we will still only worship and honor our God! Do you think so highly about our God, when it seems our prayer was not answered? A good friend once told me to be prepared for something good to happen every time you pray. Another friend once said not to look at God as a vending machine; we put in something, and expect God to answer our prayer exactly as we expected it. Sometimes God’s answer is different than we expected. Sometimes God’s answer is “just wait a while!” Sometimes God’s answer is “No!” In such a case God knows what was requested was not good for the recipient! The recipient may have been you, if it was a prayer for yourself.
Are you praying for someone but you really do not think your prayer is going to be answered, because the situation is too dire? Do not put limits on God by assuming He will not or cannot handle your request. Everything you see was created by God, so therefore, anything you could think of to pray for God can do! However, the things of this world are not the ultimate answer to any prayer. Eternity waits for all those who know and love the Lord! Everything you see is temporary and cannot be taken with you, when you go back to be with the Lord. So praying for things is somewhat shortsighted. Of course, being blessed by God with possessions is not a sin, unless you hold them in too high regard.
Do you ever wonder how your prayers are heard in heaven? Many of the Scriptures written about heaven talk about a loud voice, and it makes me wonder, if our prayers are coming through loudly, or are they more like whispers to God. When a follower of Jesus prays does this prayer reverberate through heaven? When someone prays, but they do not know Jesus, is there any sound at all? When someone says something like, “Try praying it can’t hurt!” does such a pray get heard in heaven or hell? Would you try to converse with someone you believe does not exist?
We have been given the right to pray to the God who created the universe, and believe it, He listens! Next time you pray, please first think to who you are praying, and thank God for such a right! Jesus sums it up well for us. Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig-tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." (Matthew 21:21-22)
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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