September 25, 2015
The Key to Everything
Jennifer Kennedy Dean
Today’s Truth
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them (Matthew 6:31-32, NIV).
Friend To Friend
Prayer is the key that unlocks all of the treasures of the Kingdom of God. It is a key that He has placed in your hand and invites you to use. Prayer is the conduit through which all the power and provision of God flows.
One of the questions people often have about prayer is: “If God knows what I need, why do I need to ask Him for it?” Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 that we do not need to worry about things because the Father knows everything we need (Matt. 6:31-32). He says in Matthew 6:8, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” Yet, He teaches us to pray, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matt. 6:9). Don’t you find that interesting? Jesus assures us that God knows everything we need, yet tells us to ask Him for it. God has set things up so that prayer releases into our lives what He knows we need and wants to give us.
It’s simple for God to meet your needs. Everything in the universe is His. Everything is at His command. It would be easy for God to do for you and provide for you everything you need without waiting for you to ask. But that is not how He has structured it.
God loves you and desires to live in intimacy with you. Prayer is more than the words you say that come sandwiched between “Dear God” and “Amen.” Prayer is an openness to and awareness of His presence and His power in your life. He wants you to live in the experience of His love for you.
Imagine what it might be like if God met your needs without engaging you in the process. You would never recognize His provision. It would seem to you to be coincidence or “just the way things are.” But because you have the privilege of seeing Him meet your needs in response to prayer, you experience Him. You see how He provides for you even in the smallest details.
In asking, you are recognizing the Source of everything. “ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:16-18). God tells you to ask for what you need because this interaction keeps you aware that no matter what avenue of supply He chooses to make use of, He is the source.
Sometimes God is waiting for you to ask because until you see your need, you will not recognize His supply. He waits until the need is real to you. He waits until you have come to the end of your own resources; until you have tried everything you know to try. He waits for you to turn to Him as the one and only Source.
Let’s Pray
Dear Father, Thank You for loving me and desiring such intimacy with me that You would include me in Your process. Teach me that You are my Source, no matter my need. Right now, I come to You with my every need—big and small—and look to You and You alone.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Think about times when God has met your needs in response to your prayers.
How did that experience build your faith and trust in Him?
What if He had met that same need in that same way, but left prayer out of it? Might you have considered it a coincidence?
*All Scripture references are taken from the NIV unless otherwise noted.
More from the Girlfriends
I have been thinking, studying, teaching and writing on prayer since I was 20 years old. Forty-plus years. Since the very beginning, I have invited questions from readers and live audiences. This has helped me recognize what concepts need more detail, scriptural evidence, or better illustrations. The questions have challenged me to think through the concepts and examine them from every direction. I’m a question-asker by nature, so my whole approach is based on my own questions. From the beginning, my quest has been to know the difference between a prayer life and a praying life. Live a Praying Life™ is the culmination of my years of seeking Him.
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