I will share about Christian books I have read or listened to.
I will be sharing about my life before and after Christ. I will include stories about my pet and other pets I have encountered.
Pray Like This
Prayer is simply an honest, ongoing conversation with God.
Jesus tells us that God knows what we need (Matthew 6:8), but He still wants us to come to Him and share what’s on our minds. He's a good Father who cares for us (Matthew 7:11). He wants to speak into our circumstances, comfort our hearts, and shape our perspectives.
He loves to give good gifts to His children—gifts they want, long for, and ask for. But sometimes, what we want isn’t good for us. What we want isn't what we need.
When Jesus says in Matthew 7:8, “For everyone who asks, receives...” He isn’t saying that we will get everything we ask for. God cannot—and will not—give us anything that contradicts His character.
God wants to bless us with what is good, and sometimes a “no” from God is the loving response we actually need. But He still wants us to bring Him all our wants, needs, and desires. And when we ask for anything that aligns with His will, we can be sure that He hears us (1 John 5:14).
So how do we discover God’s will? We spend time with Him.
The more we get to know God, the more we will understand His character. And it’s only when we understand His character that we will ask for things that align with His will.
Jesus’ words in Matthew 7 are a promise that when we ask for God, He gives us Himself. When we humbly seek God, He finds us. And when we come to Him as we are, He welcomes us with open arms.
When we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. And when He draws near, He transforms the way we think, renews our minds, restores our souls, and leads us down paths that are for our good and His glory.
Responding to God at All Times
Throughout our lives, we will all experience both suffering and joy. We'll have times of great grief and times of overflowing happiness. Sometimes, they’ll be separate seasons—but other times, these experiences come together.
In either case and in any situation, James expected Christians to come to God. If someone was suffering, prayer was the call to action. If someone was cheerful, people were to pause and praise God.
This might seem obvious, but when suffering clouds our thinking, we can sometimes forget to prioritize prayer. And when things are going well and we're feeling cheerful, it’s easy to just enjoy our season and not stop long enough to praise God for it. But every season of life is actually just an opportunity to put into practice what James wrote about…
When we are suffering, let us pray. When those around us are suffering, let us pray. When we are cheerful or happy, let us praise God. When others are happy, let us praise God with ...
