You Can Never Ask Too Much by John Piper

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. ⁹ Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! ¹² “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:7–12)

This has proved, in my experience, to be one of the most motivating passages in all the Bible to pray with the confidence of being answered.

It’s an argument. Even bad dads give good things to their children when they ask. God is not a bad dad. He’s the best. Therefore, much more will he give good things to his children when we ask. I love that argument. Jesus really did want us to feel hopeful when we pray. He is trying to overcome our skepticism about prayer.

There’s another reason why this is so encouraging for our prayers. He says that a good dad gives “good things” to his children when they ask for what they want. He does not say that he always gives these little children precisely what they ask for. What father ever does? Or ever would? We love our children too much for that.

One time when my son Ben was three or four, he asked for a cracker for snack time. I opened the box and found that they were moldy. I said, “I’m sorry, you can’t eat these. They are covered with fuzz.” He said, “I’ll eat the fuzz.” But I said no. He was not happy, but I loved him and would not give him a fuzzy cracker, no matter how much he pleaded.

So when Jesus says he will give good things, he means that. Only good things. And only he knows ultimately what is good for us. And notice, when he says dads don’t give stones when asked for bread, he does not say dads always give bread. Just no stones. And when he says, dads don’t give snakes for fish, he does not say dads always give fish. Just no snakes.

The point is this: God ignores no prayers from his children. And he gives us what we ask for, or something better (not necessarily easier), if we trust him.

One more point: The word “so” at the beginning of verse 12 means that verse 12 is an inference from this teaching on prayer. “So” — since God always gives you what you need when you ask — “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.” In other words, because God loves and cares for you so much, you will be able to care about others the same way you care about yourself. Which means that confidence in prayer is one of the keys to love.

Thou art coming to a King,

Large petitions with thee bring;

For His grace and power are such,

None can ever ask too much.

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org. He served for 32 years as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books. John and his wife Noël have five children and twelve grandchildren.

A (Very) Short Prayer for Joy Seekers by Tony Reinke

At the very points in my life when my soul feels most dry and joyless, I often find myself most spiritually speechless. I'm stuck. And when I get stuck in this inarticulate joyless state I turn to the Psalms. There my plea finds its language.

In a lot of ways, Psalm 86 is like the Lord’s Prayer. It's a ready-made prayer for our daily lives — short and simple, yet deeply profound. In it we read this plea:

Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. (Psalm 86:4)

Short. Simple. Articulate. And life-giving.

What is the psalmist praying for?

First, he asks to be gladdened, gladdened to his core, gladdened to every corner of his life. He seeks happiness, even in the midst of what appears for him to be painful life circumstances. Like all of us, he seeks joy for his life. And to find his joy, the psalmist prayerfully lifts up his soul to God.

Lifting the soul is a metaphor of childlike dependence and trust. It is also an act of confidence, a focused and single-hearted act that pushes away all rivals. But even more specifically, it is an act of eager anticipation. Lifting our souls to the Lord includes all of this — dependence, trust, confidence, anticipation.

Which is why Psalm 86:4 is such a beautiful and simple prayer for an often-dry, often-speechless, joy-seeker like me. Using the compacted language of the psalmist, my prayer is essentially this: “God, I lift up to you my dry, languishing soul. I turn to you because I believe you can restore its joy. I want you alone. I want you to fill me, to fill my soul — to fill my whole being — with joy. Where else can I turn, if not to you? To you alone I lift up my soul, for in you alone will I find the true gladness my soul longs for.”

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Little Prayers by Michael Bynum

Luke 11:1
Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, "Lord, Teach us to pray......"

This is a hard posting to write this morning....

Why?

Because pray is a part of my relationship that I have always felt I was sorely lacking in.

I pray...

In fact if I stop to think about it...

I pray a lot.

But when I read of others and their being given to prayer, I am embarrassed.
Leonard Ravenhill, noted English Revivalist, once commented that "When we stand before Jesus the one thing that we will be embarrassed by is the "Smallness of our prayers".  In other words, we never launched out into those prayers that changed the world. We prayed safe prayers...prayers that may have been full of selfish needs and wants.

I have had the book for some time...."E.M. Bounds On Prayer". But yesterday as I was in my office transferring some cassette tapes (remember those?) to digital, I pulled the book out and began to read. As John Wesley would have said, "My heart was strangely warmed." In other words, the Holy Spirit was very present as I poured over these words. The opening lines of the book jumped off the page at me...."The prayers of God's saints are the capital stock in heaven by which Christ carries on His great work upon the earth. The earth is changed, revolutionized; angels move on more powerful, more rapid wings; and God's policy is shaped when the prayers of His people are more  numerous and more efficient."

Does this mean that God is waiting upon us to pray so that He can act. Yes, and no. What I have found is that my prayers are actually me "breathing" back to God that which He truly desires to accomplish. He is giving me the incredible opportunity to be a part of this divine plan.......this divine work here on fallen, sinful earth. For this reason, I want to learn how to pray, and I told God that yesterday. "Teach me to pray."

Bounds goes on to write: Prayer is no fitful, short-lived thing. It is no voice crying unheard and unheeded in the silence. It is a voice that goes into God's ear, and it lives as long as God's ear is open to holy pleas, as long as God's heart is alive to holy things." I have got to lay hold of prayer. I have, in the past, given up to quickly. I have thrown up short bursts of emotion laced with words that I think God wants to hear. No more. Prayer has got to be the language of heaven that begins with a heart that is stirred in belief that God is who He claims to be and that He answers the cries of His children.

Everything is possible to those who truly know how to pray, and the one truth that still burns in a world gone dark is that God's ear is not so dull that He cannot hear....and His arm so short that He cannot save. I fear that my own prayers were nothing more than those like the Pharisee's. A cold and lifeless praying that was nothing more than a parody of the real thing. God forgive me. There is a part of me that finds the things of this world more exciting than spending time in prayer. This cannot be any longer. Please read my words with clear vision. I am not pontificating or posturing to lay claim that I am going to be some kind of incredible prayer warrior. I am laying claim to the fact that I have not taken the discipline of prayer as serious as God would have me. How many lives have passed by me and moved deeper into spiritual darkness because I did not wrestle for their very soul in prayer. This cannot be. I am grateful for God's hand to lay hold of me this morning and give me another opportunity to participate in His Kingdom work. Another opportunity to learn and grow. I do not want to squander this.

Don't Stop Praying by Richard Trader

Don't Stop Praying

"Pray without ceasing."

1 Thessalonians 5:17

A certain man had lived a self-centered life, focused on nothing more than his own pleasure. He had been abusive to his wife and neglected his family. One day he shocked his wife by saying, "I want to turn my life around. I need God." The wife was so happy. She invited her pastor to come to their home to talk with her husband. The pastor explained to him how God would forgive all of his sins and change his heart. They had prayer together. The man told the pastor that he wanted to be baptized and join the church. After the pastor left, the man sat with his head down as he wept. His wife said, "Honey, I don't understand. I thought that you would be happy." He said, "Oh, I am, but I wish my mother had lived to see this day. She always prayed for me."

It's easy to get discouraged in prayer, when we don't see immediate results. We prefer to have our prayers answered immediately, but it doesn't always happen that way. The apostle Paul exhorted believers to "pray without ceasing."  Don't give up. Don't let up. Pray with persistence and perseverance.

Have you been praying for someone without seeing results? Have you been praying about a personal problem without a change of circumstances? "Pray without ceasing." Just because we see no visible results does not mean that God has not heard our prayers. He always hears the prayer of faith. Surrender to God's will to answer your prayer in His time and His way. Don't stop praying.

Prayer: Father, we believe that You hear our prayers. We confess our impatience in prayer. We believe You are working to answer our prayers according to Your goodness, when we see results and when we don't. We pray without ceasing through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our Deepest Problem Is Internal: A Prayer Of Repentance

Prayer: Lord, We confess that most of us have no knowledge of our deep sinfulness that belongs to us and to which consciously we yield [6]. While the world says that our problems are external, the gospel says that our deepest problem is internal. On the cross, we see that we are so sinful that Jesus had to die for us, but also that we are so loved that he chose to die for us. This year, prick our hearts so that we have a deep consciousness of the danger of our sin so that we cling to your mercy evermore. Amen. - 843 acres - The Park Forum.

A Prayer From John Piper: O God You Are Able

“We are not able in ourselves to win this battle. We are not able to change hearts or minds. We are not able to change worldviews and transform culture and save 1.6 million children. We are not able to reform the judiciary or embolden the legislature or mobilize the slumbering population. We are not able to heal the endless wounds of godless ideologies and their bloody deeds. But, O God, you are able! And we turn from reliance on ourselves to you. And we cry out to you and plead that for the sake of your name, and for the sake of your glory, and for the advancement of your saving purpose in the world, and for the demonstration of your wisdom and your power and your authority over all things, and for the sway of your Truth and the relief of the poor and the helpless, act, O God. This much we hunger for the revelation of your power. With all our thinking and all our writing and all our doing, we pray and we fast. Come. Manifest your glory.”

 (Prayer from John Piper, A Hunger for God, 171)

A Quote From Charles Spurgeon on Intercession

“Intercessory prayer is exceedingly prevalent. What wonders it has wrought! The Word of God teems with its marvelous deeds. Believer, thou hast a mighty engine in thy hand, use it well, use it constantly, use it with faith, and thou shalt surely be a benefactor to thy brethren.”

― C.H.SPURGEON