daily devotional

Today, you woke up to a reality you once prayed for. You’re currently living at least one of the prayers you used to pray. God came through for you. He answered. He delivered. He provided. He moved. He fought. He won. For you.

And here’s the really awesome thing to think about … you know of only a tiny fraction of what God has done for you. Battles in the heavenly realms were fought for you, while you were clueless of the pending threat. Disasters were avoided and you were never even aware. Impossibilities were made to look so natural, you remained unaware of all God did behind the scenes to make it possible for you.

God answers prayers. He hears every request you bring to him in the name of Jesus and his power is set in action. If we really understood the impact of our prayers, there’s not a single thing we wouldn’t pray about. If we could see with our own eyes the chain reaction of events caused by our prayer to the Almighty, we would never give God a break! We would talk to him non-stop. We wouldn’t have time to be in conflict, say stupid things we regret, continue an argument, nag or complain … we would be busy talking to Jesus!

But, we don’t see everything God does in response to our prayers. In fact, sometimes it feels like he doesn’t hear us at all. Sometimes we pray and nothing seems to happen. Heck, sometimes I pray and things get worse. It’s easy to focus on those times and become discouraged. But what about the millions of little things around you right now that are SO RIGHT? What about the fact that your eyes worked today when you opened them? That’s freaking miraculous! Do you even understand how cells in your retina turn light into electrical signals that travel to the optic nerve in your brain. Then your brain turns those signals into images you see. That’s some crazy next level woo-woo stuff happening in your eyeballs, but it’s so normal to you that you will walk through this entire day miraculously seeing without stopping one time to praise God for the impossible he is doing in your body. How about we focus on the fact that so many things are working for us at this exact moment! So much is right. So much is good. And all of it is by the grace of God.

And all that isn’t right … all that is still in a negative state … all that is yet to be … well, that’s where God’s work has yet to be revealed. You haven’t seen what he’s working on for you yet. His masterpiece isn’t on display yet, but it will be. The time will come when you see how your prayers set his power in motion and he responded in ways you couldn’t have imagined. The greatest thing we can do is praise him here while we wait. Praise him with a faith that KNOWS he is working. Praise him with a soul that is at peace while progress is still in process.

What will you pray about today? Seriously, what will you bring to the Almighty today as your request? Where will you allocate his power to work in your life? What will you choose to pray about instead of worry about? What will you ask God to work out instead of you trying to work out on your own? Where will you invite God in the middle and remove yourself from the lead?

In 1 Kings 3:5 God appears to his servant Solomon in a dream and says “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”

What if God said the same to you today? What if he said, “My daughter, ask me for what you want. Terri, tell me what you want. Stefanie, Jessica, Kelly, Erin, Ashley, Anna, Katy, Kimberly, my girls, ask for whatever you want me to give you. What would you ask him for?

I believe every day of our lives God is asking us this question. What do you want me to give you? What are you seeking of me? Where do you want me to unleash my power? Where are you inviting me into your life? What space have you made available for me? Our answer reveals our priorities. Lord, give me a hot body, a shiny red corvette, and a beach house please. I wonder how disappointed God must be in our shallow requests when he knows he can do SO MUCH MORE.

Solomon responded to God’s offer with his request for wisdom and discernment. He said in verse 9 “Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.”

Now, check out God’s response. Verse 10-14: “The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, “Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for – both wealth and honor – so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me… I will give you a long life.”

Now we know how to present our requests to God. We know when we seek his will first, all the other things will be added to us as a result. Jesus said in Matthew 6: 3 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

How will you allocate the power of God through your prayers today? How will you respond to God’s offer of “ask me for whatever you want me to give you”?

Ask for wisdom today. Ask him to help you chose right over wrong. Ask him to guide you down the best paths. Ask him to help you live up to your potential in every decision you make today. Ask him to reveal his better way to you, then give you the courage to follow it. Ask him to use you as his hands and feet, and ask him to let it start in your own home. Ask him to show you where you can do better, then strengthen you to make those changes. Ask him to open your eyes to all he has done and is doing. Ask him to invade all the empty spaces and fill your life to overflowing. Ask him to help you become everything he envisioned you to be when he create you. Ask him to use you for his good plans. Ask him to go to work on you first. Ask him to empower you to stop settling for anything less.

Yes Lord, this is what we ask of you. This is our prayer. We see all that is good and right in our lives. We see all that could have been, but by the grace of God isn’t. We see all God has done on our behalf, and we are grateful. We are overwhelmed in the millions of things that are SO RIGHT, and our big request is quite simply to help us live up to all he created us for.