Whatever We Ask

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6, NIV).

There is no need to worry about anything I face. If I have a need, I will present my request to God, believing and trusting that no matter what I lay before Him, He will answer. The phrase “with thanksgiving” in this verse means that I have assurance that He will take care of my plea for help. When I give my need to Him in prayer, I feel thanksgiving in my heart when its weight is lifted from me.

Are there times you hesitate to ask because you believe He doesn't take notice? Are there times you feel defeated and alone? When the circumstances of this life overwhelm, you can feel abandoned if you do not continually lay your heart on His altar. He has never abandoned you. He has waited patiently for you to come to Him in prayer. The Lord has an answer for what burdens your heart. He can miraculously lift it, or instead guide you through it with His powerful hand. All you need to do is ask with whatever faith you can supply, and He will supply beyond anything your limited human mind can imagine. His supply takes your little mustard seed of faith, and brings a great harvest (Matthew 17:20).

If you lay your heart's burden on His altar and take your hands off of it, He will move mountains. When you allow Him to have the cry of your heart–truly have it–the burden lifts and you are filled with thanksgiving that He will answer your prayer with His best answer. You have finally realized that His answer is the only one. The cry of your heart has become the will of your Father in heaven. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14, 15).

If He can move mountains, He can move you, and He can move me to prayer. We have not because we ask not (James 4:2).