• 

“…You do not have because you do not ask.”

James 4:2

Maggie seems to have at least a couple of positive answers to prayer every single day. Listen to her to talk and you will often hear her give God props by saying, “Yeah, that was a total answer to prayer!”

How does this happen? Why does Maggie have so many answers to prayer?

Answer? Because just about everything Maggie thinks about, she prays about. When she encounters a need or a situation that could potentially be a problem, she has learned to do what the Bible says to do:

do not be anxious about anything, but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 

-Philippians 4:6

In other words, Maggie has learned to think prayerfully. In the past she would spend a lot of time stressing and analyzing things in her thoughts before it would even occur to her to pray about it. Now she is quick to release things to God in prayer. Maggie habitually invites the Lord into more of the details of her life, including the little and seemingly insignificant things (like how to find those tax papers she misplaced).

“...acknowledge Him in ALL of your ways…” Proverbs 3:6

So what’s the key to more answers to prayer? Pray more. Give more stuff to God in prayer and it a statistical probability that you will experience more answers to prayer. I’m not saying that it will all go your way obviously, but I am saying that God would be willing to do more for you if you just asked.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” 

-Jesus, Matthew 7:7-8

Sometimes we withhold things from God because we mistakenly think it’s not a “spiritual” issue or something that He would care about. Truth is, if it matters to you, it matters to Him. This includes the little things, mid-size things, and obviously the big things, too. He invites us to bring all of it to Him – not just once – but continuously.

“casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” I Peter 5:7

Right now I an praying about how to conclude this post. The answer didn’t come right away, but it did come. What was it? That I should conclude this post the same way that I have concluded the last 167 posts:

It’s a new day with God. Run with it.