Scorpions, Eggs and Shameless Audacious Prayer

Hello Church Family: Have you ever asked God for things that you have never received?  Are you mad that you have never received what you have asked of Him?  Have you ever said, “I asked God for this or that and I did not get it so I stopped asking.”

Jesus wants us to clearly understand from Luke 11, that to pray the way our Heavenly Father wants us to pray is to pray with shameless persistence!  Jesus teaches that to be a person of prayer is to be one who perseveres in asking, perseveres in seeking and perseveres in knocking.  We must accept that the Bible teaches that often God gives us what we need only after a long season of shameless persistent prayer.  This does not mean that He is uncaring or insensitive to our wants, needs or desires.  Instead, we know that whenever He decides to give us whatever we have been asking from Him it is because He loves us and His desire is always to give us good gifts at the best time for us to have them.  We can be certain that our loving Heavenly Father only gives His children what is good for us and many times what is good for us is the time spent in shameless, persistent asking, seeking and knocking.  God does respond to shameless, persisting prayer.  In fact, Scripture is clear that many times we have not received this or that is because we did not persist in prayer like He calls us to do so (Luke 11:5-13; 18:1-8).

Jesus tells us that our Heavenly Father will never give us something that is not good for us.  He will only give us good gifts.  One example He gives in Luke 11, is a child asking his Father for an egg.  A good Father would never turn around and give his son an evil, poisonous snake when the son had asked for an egg.  Instead the good Father would give his son a healthy, nutritious, life-sustaining egg.  That is a good gift from an earthly Father.  But what about our perfect Heavenly Father?  Jesus says, even more than an earthly Father our Heavenly Father is MUCH MORE willing, able, and determined to give us the best gifts.  Rest secure in that promise.  If you have not received from your Heavenly Father what you have been asking for, then He believes that is not the best gift for you.  Or to put it according to the parable, you are asking for a scorpion and you don’t even know it.  God is actually giving you a life-giving egg by not giving you anything.  So, continue in shameless, persistent prayer and God will either in the right time give you what you are asking from Him or He will change your heart to see that what you are asking for is not what is best.  God will always give you what you would have asked for if you knew everything that He knows.  Rest confidently in that wonderful truth and keep persisting in shameless, audacious, bold prayer.  God loves it when we persevere in faithful prayers knowing that He is a loving Heavenly Father that gives good gifts.

Luke 11:8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.
 
This Sunday we will be meeting in person at the church building if you would like to join us in person at 10am.  And for those who will be staying at home, we will  be live-streaming on our Grace Community Church Topsail YouTube Channel. Push the blue link.  We can also be found at https://www.gracetopsail.com/

I look forward to worshipping with you Sunday, forgiven. - Steve