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faith, God, inspiration, miracles, possibility, prayer, reflections, Spirit, thoughts, truth
“If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to you. But ask in faith, never doubting.” (James 1: 5-6)
Our scripture has much to teach us. God gives to each of us willingly, graciously and abundantly whenever we ask. But it also tells us something vitally important about our asking. It must be done in faith, without any reservation or any negativity.
In first reading this text one could think our prayers will be answered right away, that the answers we seek suddenly appear to us and that is that. Most of us know that doesn’t always happen and that our “never doubting faith” comes in to play here to sustain us as we experience God’s reply.
If your prayers don’t seem to be answered as soon as you would like, then what must we do? The answer? Keep the prayer going. Keep connecting with God in a reflective way and know that as you do so you are moving forward in the right direction. We don’t keep praying because we have not yet gotten the attention of God, but because we are seeking to gain greater clarity of the presence of God working and moving through our life. This is major. You don’t want to give up and get off the highway one exit before the destination. We need to keep that connection clear, never doubting. Author Richard Rohr has written so meaningfully that God doles out life and understanding to us in small doses. This is the good news, for too much information all at once would just overwhelm and confuse us. We are all trying to balance our human earthly self with our heavenly spiritual self and that takes time, dedication and perseverance. God will help us, so the journey is not impossible.
It is important to realize that who you are when you finish saying your prayer is a different you from the person you were when you began that prayer. You can’t help but be. You have changed. Not God, but you. You have changed. Your very words, feelings, thoughts and desires lifted up to God have moved you to a new understanding of God’s power acting in your life. You have been altered, transformed, remolded, brought into a new truth and reality of the presence of God always right where you are. You are changed. That is the joy of asking God, never doubting. We have declared our willingness to be changed. Our willingness to experience God in new and exciting ways.
Affirmation: “A heartfelt thank you to God is a powerful sign of belief in answered prayer.”
Rev. Jefferson Beeker
http://jefferson340.wix.com/index
We live our lives one thought at a time. Let each of those thoughts really count for something wonderful.
Be prepared to change your thinking and change your life.
Follow me on Twitter @jeffersonbeeker for daily affirmations of uplifting and positive faith.