Tag: #ask

What Do You Need? Who Are You Asking?

Text:

Mark 10:46-52 (ESV)

46  And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.

47  And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

48  And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

49  And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.”

50  And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus.

51  And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”

52  And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Observation:

Do you have any pressing needs in your life, and you have exhausted all of the sources known by you to find help?

That is a picture of the man in the example found in our focal passage for today. This is a story of what a blind man can see.

What I will focus on today is that having eyes to see is not enough, and being in the presence and place with Jesus is not enough. The blind man could not see Jesus, but He heard about Him.

This verse is a very telling and compelling word from the Lord. I pray that if you know God that it will grip your heart, encourage your heart, and set your heart on fire.

Romans 10:14 (ESV)

14  How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

The man who could not see with his eyes had ears that heard about Jesus. There is value in telling others about Jesus. He cried out to Jesus, and asked Jesus to meet his pressing need.

Mark 10:51-52 (ESV)

51  And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.”

52  And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way.

Prayer:

Father, hallowed be Your name. Father, I am so thankful that You are a God who listens to the cries of all who cry out to You for help. Father, I am reporting to all who read or hear the Word of God in my prayer today will come to know, believe, and receive from You the gift of eternal life.

John 5:24 (ESV)

24  Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Father, I ask that You stir hearts to tell, and the ears of those who need to hear, and faith to believe. In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

—

Isaiah 55:11 (KJV) 
11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Read the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/

Hear the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

https://soundcloud.com/praying-for-you-ministry

Do You Know Why It Pays to Pray?

 

Text:

Luke 11:1-2 (ESV)

1  Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

2  And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

Observation:

I frequently hear people say, “We need to do more than pray”. I never receive those words.

I heard something recently that  reflect more accurately what the Word of God says about prayer.

“We can do more than pray after we pray, but we cannot do more than pray until we pray.”

Notice that Jesus said to His disciples “When you pray”. He did not say, “If you pray”. Without God we cannot do the work of God.

The disciples asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray”. I don’t know about you, but I need the practice in knowing how to pray. However, there is so much more that we get when we pray.

When we pray, we are brought into the presence of  the Almighty and All Knowing God. We get to spend time alone with Him in prayer. We get to communicate (listen and talk); we also get to connect our heart with His heart.

Additionally, we get to exchange gifts. What we have to offer Him is our highest praise, and our most sincere gratitude for who He is, and for what He does.

What we receive from Him are the blessings from His storehouse. Our Father is rich; His resources are unlimited.

Our gifts of praise and thanksgiving offered to Him creates an atmosphere that positions our hearts to be stirred with love, joy, and peace that comes from being in the presence of the LORD.

Our hearts are prepared, and are conditioned by His desires; they become our desires. Then we are strategically positioned and ready to Ask and receive everything we need.

1 John 5:14-15 (ESV)

14  And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

15  And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

Psalm 37:4 (ESV)

4  Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Are you ready to spend some time with the Father in prayer so that His desires will become your desires? It pays richly to pray regularly.

Prayer:

Father, I am so grateful for the privilege on being able to enter into Your throne room, and to have the privilege of having a private audience with You.

Father, smile on Your people as they meet with You face to face. Father, we offer up to You our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

—

Isaiah 55:11 (KJV) 
11  So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Read the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

http://herbcotton.blogspot.com/

Hear the Daily Devotional by Herb Cotton; click here:

https://soundcloud.com/praying-for-you-ministry