The more skilled you are at a task, the more you enjoy it. When an orchestra adeptly plays a masterpiece, an accomplished musician will derive greater pleasure from listening than would a person with an untrained ear. You might be surprised to learn the same is true of giving.
God has many reasons for us to give. First, returning a portion of our wealth to the Lord acknowledges that everything actually belongs to Him (Ps. 50:10). Second, giving is a way to demonstrate that we are obeying Him (Deut. 16:17). Third, contributing to a ministry or helping the needy is participation in kingdom work, which brings us deep joy. Fourth, our offerings are an opportunity for God to reveal His character to us and those around us; as we demonstrate generosity, He faithfully provides for our needs and blesses us abundantly (2 Cor. 9:8). Over and over again, the saying “You can’t outgive God” proves true.
Giving involves more than our money. God has blessed us with talents, time, and resources—along with plenty of opportunities to share them with others. It’s important to rely on the Holy Spirit’s guidance to know what, to whom, and how much we should give.
Remember, the Lord is continuously giving to us: salvation, comfort, encouragement, life, and countless other blessings. We’re indebted to Him and should give back, not out of obligation but with a heart of gratitude and joy (2 Cor. 9:7). Ask God to reveal any selfishness or other hindrance to sharing—and to help you become more skilled at giving.
Prayer is the Christian’s most powerful God-given means for effecting change. Yet we’re often hesitant about our appeals.
But we should be confident in prayer, primarily because of the knowledge that we belong to God’s family (John 1:12). When we received Jesus Christ as Savior, God became our heavenly Father. As a result, we can be absolutely sure He will hear our prayers (1 John 5:14).
We have additional reason for confidence when we pray according to God’s will. Some things never fit His plan, such as lying, cheating, and actions prompted by pride, malice, or rage (Prov. 6:16-19; Col. 3:8). Insignificant matters like which color to wear or common-sense decisions like using a seatbelt are left to our discretion. But what about desires in other categories?
- To know God’s will, our spirit must be submitted to God (James 4:7). In advance of His answer, we must release our grip on outcomes we want and be willing to say yes to His plan.
- We study the Scriptures, where God’s general will is revealed through commands and principles. Second Timothy 3:16-17 tells us, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”
- We must depend on the Holy Spirit to help us pray in agreement with the Lord’s purposes (Rom. 8:26).
Believer, change your praying from timid to bold by aligning your prayers with God’s will and remembering He wants to say yes to His children.
We like to keep things simple: Follow a few steps and reach the preferred result. Prayer, however, cannot be reduced to an easy formula. It isn’t some static activity where repeating certain words brings the desired solution. It’s ongoing communication with the heavenly Father and should involve listening, speaking, and acting on what we hear from Him.
God has promised to answer His children’s prayers, but He often waits before responding. He does so for many reasons.
Preparation. Sometimes God has to make us ready for what He wants to give us. We may have some attitudes or behaviors not aligned with His will (James 4:3). He’ll deal with them before He gives us His gift.
Spiritual growth. The Lord may use delays to test our faith or deepen our relationship with Him. No response from Him means He wants us to continue to seek Him and converse with Him.
Timing. God’s timetable often doesn’t match ours. He knows what He wants to accomplish in our spiritual life and in our relationship with Him. We can trust that He will put to good use the time between our request and His reply.
God includes delays as part of the believer’s prayer life. Sometimes He answers our first request, but often it takes several petitions before He responds. In certain situations, we have to keep knocking—as the persevering widow did—before God gives us His answer. (See Luke 18:1-8.)
Jesus calls us to a lifestyle of “asking, seeking, and knocking”—a lifestyle based on trust in God’s promise to answer His children. Are you persistent?
God wants His children to ask for what’s on their hearts, because He delights to give. Even more, He wants to fellowship with us. What joy can be ours every time we meet our heavenly Father through prayer!
The privilege of supplication rests on our relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ. Only those who are part of God’s family can claim Him as their Father (John 1:12) and avail themselves of His pledge to answer prayer. He makes no such commitment to unbelievers. The single exception is the sinner who asks for forgiveness and receives Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. As promised, his or her prayer is always answered with salvation (Rom. 10:9).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses three verbs to describe prayer: ask, seek, and knock. Notice the progression in intensity from a request to a search and then to further action. Prayer is more than giving God requests. It involves seeking His will to guide our entreaties. It means “knocking on doors” by exploring different solutions and obtaining godly counsel to help determine the Lord’s mind. Jesus pledged that we will receive, we will find, and God will open the door for us. We have His assurance that God will respond and what He does is good.
Prayer is simple, yet at times we find it hard to practice. We try different methods but often feel dissatisfied and wonder if our prayers are having any effect. Ask the Lord to teach you more about biblical praying. Put into practice what you learn, and wait in assurance for His answers!
Years ago I lived in Fruitland, North Carolina. It was apple country, and several of my parishioners were growers. I remember the time I stopped by to pay one of them a visit, and his wife told me he was in the orchard. I found him out there, mercilessly cutting branches. Without thinking, I said, “You’re going to kill that tree!” He turned around and said, “You stick to preaching, and leave the pruning to me.”
This gentleman and I became friends, and it was from him that I learned about the pruning process. Cutting the way he did was necessary to produce an abundant crop of the best fruit. It might look as if the tree was going to die, but new growth would spring from the wounds. Our conversations helped me understand why the Lord sometimes acts as a pruning force in people’s lives.
To get a plentiful crop of spiritual fruit, our heavenly Father must remove anything that distracts or deters us from serving Him. The process is oftentimes painful. I know I have cried out, “More, Lord?” when He has taken the “knife” to me. But the result is always satisfying—I’m a better, more accurate reflection of Jesus Christ after God cuts away a fleshly habit or worldly attitude.
Being loved by God doesn’t mean we’ll be coddled—our comfort is not His primary interest. A grower prunes an apple tree to get a bountiful harvest. In the same way, the heavenly Father sometimes lets us feel pain so He can bring forth greater growth and more spiritual fruit in our lives.
