I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. (Psalms 17:6)
During a recent visit to my daughter’s, my 4 year old granddaughter handed me some toys and stood in front of me. ‘Tell grandma what you want with your words, dear’ my daughter told her.
How many times do we do that to God? I know that God knows so I don’t say anything, waiting for Him to act.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (Philippians 4:6)
We are to present our requests to God. We must ask Him.
Asking Him doesn’t mean He will always say yes.
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:3)
I remember asking my parents to let me go with a group of older kids to a club when I was just becoming a teenager. They said no. It was not the kind of thing I should get involved in. God, too, will not allow us to do what is not right. And right or wrong, I could have told my granddaughter ‘no, I can’t play that game right now’.
Asking does not always mean getting what we want. But we cannot get anything until we ask.
You do not have, because you do not ask God. (James 4:2)
You might say I don’t know how to talk to God. Here’s a way to get started.
You enjoy your knitting and crochet gatherings. You find you can talk to your friends while your hands are busy on your latest project. Actually, this is why the Knit and Crochet Bible Study idea works so well. We become relaxed and open up while working on our projects. So, to start talking with God, why not go to a quiet place, pick up your yarn and start working on your project. Now talk to God as if He were right there beside there. He is, you know. I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:20). God is listening. He knows what is in your heart. He wants you to tell Him. Just like I knew my granddaughter wanted to play with me. But she needed to tell me that.
Quiet knitting/crochet time is a great time to talk with God. But after you have talked awhile, listen. God is speaking to you. Though He can create the thunder, He speaks with a still small voice. (see 1 Kings 19:11-13).
I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer. (Psalms 17:6)