Ask, Seek, Knock, or Don't Worry be Happy

In Matthew chapter 7:7-12,  Jesus teaches us about effective prayer.  He says: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the do will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  Which of you, if his 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!  So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." 

Praying effectively is one thing that I desperately want to do.  I don't want to be like the people Jesus describes in Chapter six who mindlessly repeat their words thinking that bombarding God, with repeated requests will somehow change His mind.  I just want to be able to take my requests to God, and know that he has heard them and that is good enough for me.   I am having a hard time, this week, doing this.  

I know that Pastors usually should be able to pray and know how to pray, and I do.  I love my prayer life with God and my relationship with Him.  It is just that I have this one issue that seems to be weighing heavily on my heart.  This one issue that has started to keep me up at night as I go over all of the things that will go wrong if this issue is not resolved.  I feel pressed and I am having a hard time doing what he tells us in chapter 6 vs 25, "I tell you do not worry".  

A few weeks ago I preached that these times of pressing can either be a cause for us to fall away from God, and choose to reject Him and His message; or it can be a time of drawing us closer to God.  So today I am choosing to practice what I preach.  I want this issue in my life to draw me closer to God, I want to pray effectively for this issue but more importantly I want to seek Him and find Him.   I want to know Him better through this time, I want to find His peace, I want to seek His face and His will for this issue in my life.   I want to not worry and be happy in Him.  

My prayer for you is that you would echo these thoughts.  I know God loves us and that he works all things together, for our good, if we love Him.  So let us love Him with all of our hearts, in the midst of the storm.  Let the wind blow and the waves roll, Jesus is piloting my ship, and with Him at the wheel, I will not sink, no matter how many holes my boat may have!  

Thank you Jesus for loving us and hearing our prayers.  You know what we need even before we ask.  Have you way in our hearts, in our lives, in our issues and in all! 

How to take a pounding!

Tonight is a night that my family will remember for the rest of our lives.  The call came a few weeks ago from my board secretary who asked me if I had ever been pounded?  I responded by telling him, "yes I have been pounded before and I did not enjoy it, why what did I do to deserve a pounding so soon?  He laughed and said that the church family decided they wanted to give us a pounding, which is a whole bunch of people coming over to our house for an Island kitchen party where everyone brings groceries and goodies to eat.  Tonight was the night they choose and all I can say is wow!  It was amazing to see our house packed with members of our church who all were laughing and talking and eating goodies.  It was even more amazing when they started to pile all the groceries in the corner.  It filled our table and left me speechless.  We felt so loved and appreciated and grateful that our church family cared enough about us to bless us by doing this.  We are so blessed, not because we have a table full of food and enough in gift certificates to purchase food for a few weeks, but because we have people who care and desire a relationship with us.  Thank you so much to everyone who came and brought food but more importantly thank you for the friendships that are starting to be formed.  Thank you for loving my family!

All I can say to those of my friends who read this and who do not have a church family looking out for them, is I wish that you could experience what we did tonight.  There is a fellowship and bond shared with people who go to church and love Jesus Christ, that is not found elsewhere and when it is done right, it honors God and helps to build his kingdom.  Find a church that you can call your home and you will find that when those times come when you need a hand or an encouraging word, they will always be there for you!

Have a wonderful weekend and make time for God, who loves you, and go and worship Him on Sunday!