Prayer: Do you have faith God can provide?

Introduction

There is an old legend, some say it is about Alexander the Great, and some attribute it to other ancient kings or emperors. The legend goes that if a warrior extinguished himself in battle then Alexander would grant the warrior a single wish. Whatever the warrior desired, all he had to do is ask for it and Alexander would grant it. Now, usually the warrior would ask for a simple boon such as an extra week’s pay, a special feast for him and his friends, or something of this nature. The warriors would make the request to their supervisor who would then bring the request to Alexander’s treasurer, then the treasurer would bring it to Alexander who would grant the wish. On one occasion a warrior asked for a huge amount of gold and a large piece of land to own and manage in the name of Alexander the Great. When he made the request to his supervisor he laughed at the warrior, but made the request to the treasurer who also laughed at the warrior. Soon, the treasurer was giving Alexander the daily reports when he mentioned the soldier’s absurd request. Alexander asked the treasurer if he granted the wish, but the treasurer said no. Alexander then commanded that the treasurer grant the request, but the treasurer questioned the decision. Alexander then told the treasurer the warrior obviously had faith that Alexander had the power to grant the wish freely. Because of this faith he deserved to have his wish granted to him. Now think about your prayer life. When you go to God in prayer, do you ask him for something as simple as a big meal, or an extra week of pay, or do you have enough faith to pray for God to grant you the world?

Ask and you shall receive Matthew 7:7-11

First, I desire to make something very clear here. When Jesus says “ask and it shall be given unto you” He does not mean if you ask God for a new car then He’ll grant it to you, or if you go to prayer and ask for a new bass boat then you’ll get a new boat. Notice something about the story above. When the warrior asked for gold and land to manage, he desired to manage it in the name of Alexander the Great. When we ask God for something we should not ask Him for things for our own gain, but His gain. If you ask for anything for the gain of God He will grant it. Next, look at verse 7 again. Notice it first says “ask and you will receive”. If you desire God to grant you anything what do you have to do first? Ask of course! But then the verse goes on to say “seek and you will find”. So should we just ask God for something in prayer one time then forget about it until God grants it to us? Well, the verse tells us to seek, so we should actively seek God’s will in our lives as well as continuously seeking Him in prayer. Lastly, the verse says “Knock, and it will be opened to you”. So, after you’ve asked in prayer, sought out God’s will in your life, and sought Him out in prayer, are you done yet? Not yet! You see, when you seek God out in prayer, He will be there. However, you knock by continuing prayer to Him. The beautiful thing is, all that is expected of us is to “knock” at the door. Once we have asked, sought, and knocked, God will hear and answer.