Your Greatest Need
What is your greatest need today? Is it money for a pressing financial obligation? Peace for a restless, anxious heart or a sense of reassurance that what you are doing is right on track with God’s will for your life? Jesus told His disciples, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened†(Matthew 7:7-8).
Why do we avoid asking God for wisdom, favor, insight, direction, guidance, and provision? Many times, we believe we can solve our own problems. Pride pricks our emotions and urges us to make a snap decision without consulting the Lord. Or we may be faced with several choices and we try to reason which one is best. We also can come up with a shortfall financially and find solace in contacting a friend or a business associate and ask, “What do you think I should do about this?†It is good to listen to wise godly counsel, but it is better to begin at the most effective point and that is time spent alone with the Lord in prayer.
Resist the urge to think, “There is no time. My world is falling in around me.†Or “If I don’t move now, I’ll miss the opportunity.†The truth is: nothing has ever collapsed when God is holding it up. And nothing has ever by-passed you when you are seeking His best. Where there is a need for wisdom, He provides it. Where there is a heart-felt cry for peace and security, He gives it. And where there is a deficit, He fills the void to overflowing with His omnipotent provision.
Ask, and it will be given to you!
Ask with the right motive. “Lord, I want what is best for my life. You know my need. Please show me Your will and desire for this situation.â€
Ask believing that He will answer. James writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach . . . But he must ask in faith without doubting†(James 1:5-6). God is waiting for you to tell Him that you need Him. Whatever the problem is; the principle is the same. Ask!
Ask with a humble heart. We can’t demand anything from God. He is Lord of all, and while He loves us with an everlasting love, we are to honor Him and praise Him with hearts of gratitude. Come before His throne with thanksgiving knowing that He holds the key that can unlock every difficulty, sorrow, and problem.
Ask and stop worrying. Obsessing about a situation only creates more stress. Most of us know what the Lord requires. We just have a hard time accepting it. We worry because we want to work at the solution or because we are deceived and think we know about some extreme element that somehow has gone unnoticed by God. Nothing is further from the truth. He knows all things and He is watching and waiting to see if we will trust Him today and for the future.
When we pledge our love and hearts in faith to Him, He goes to work. And before we know it, the mountain that seemed insurmountable earlier is reduced to an insignificant amount of rubble.
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life†(Matthew 6:25).
(Taken from the online devotional Grace in The Wilderness© 2008 tfchistory.com)