Learning to Ask....

"Teach me Your way, Lord, so that I can walk in Your truth.  Make my heart focused only on honoring Your name.  I give thanks to You, my Lord, my God, with all my heart, and I will glorify Your name forever, because Your faithful love toward me is awesome and because You've rescued my life from the lowest part of hell." 
-Psalm 86:11-13


I've been in "summer school" with God... and LOVED it!  Focused on the Word, and God has been reshaping me & working on the foundation of my life. :-)  During the past few months, I could have written many things. Thoughts of the Lord's goodness... excitement over the truths I've found in His Word... or sharing the lessons I was learning in studying the Word- how God was gracing me to be obediant and change things in me and in my life. However, I really felt- especially with the latter- that I needed to live this out and continue following God in what He was teaching me and where He was leading me for an amount of time before I started talking to others. As I mentioned earlier, God's been working on my foundation.... and I felt that I should let the cement dry for a while. :-)  My heart has been so blessed as I've spent time learning.

One thing I learned, I knew before, but I didn't really know itL  Praying God's Word to Him. :-) Actually, now I would say that I had no idea. :-) You may totally know (& really understand) this, but I figured that if I hadn't clued in to praying this way, maybe someone else hasn't had this particular ah-hah moment either!

In July, I began with Colossians 1:9-13

"Father, I pray that You would fill me with the knowledge of Your will

in all spiritual wisdom and understanding...

So that I would walk in a manner worthy of You,

to please you in all respects...

That I would be bearing fruit in every good work,

and increasing in the knowledge of You, Father.

I pray that You would strengthen me with all power,

according to Your glorious might...

for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience...

That I would be joyously giving thanks to You, Lord,

for You have qualified me to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

For You have delivered me from the domain of darkness,

and transferred me to the kingdom of Your beloved Son, Jesus...
and in Jesus I have redemption,

the forgiveness of my sins." 
Thank You, Lord!

 

 As I pray this in faith, I also thank the Lord for this promise:

"AND WE ARE CONFIDENT THAT HE HEARS US WHENEVER WE ASK FOR ANYTHING THAT PLEASES HIM.  AND SINCE WE KNOW HE HEARS US WHEN WE MAKE OUR REQUESTS, WE ALSO KNOW THAT HE WILL GIVE US WHAT WE ASK FOR."
-1 John 5:14-15


I want to encourage you, that God desires to listen to the earnest prayers of His people.  If we have believed and trusted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, then we have been made righteous before God... purely through His amazing grace.  Our Father wants us to come before Him.....

"Father, I come before You in the Name of Jesus...

and I ask that You would grant us according to the riches of Your glory,

to be strengthened with power through Your Spirit in our inner being; 

so that Christ Jesus may dwell in our hearts through faith;

and that we, being rooted and grounded in love,

may be able to comprehend with all the saints

what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,

that we may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Now to Him Who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask

or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever."  

-Ephesians 3:16-21   Amen!  :-)