Your Daily Devotional for February 3, 2006

February 3, 2006

 

Just Do It

By Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

 

Matthew 7:7-8

 

As we approach the Scriptures today, we see that Christ has laid out a promise. There are several promises in the Bible, and all of them are worth their weight. Never once has God not kept a promise. Here we see a promise that all we need to do is simply ask, seek, and knock, and Christ will bring the results. “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

 

One of the most popular brands in basketball shoe history has been the Nike brand. For a while it seemed like every other basketball player had Nike on…some in the form of a wristband, a sock, a headband, a jersey, but most with the symbol on their shoes. Nike’s motto is just do it. The idea was that if people just “did” it, more things would get done. Don’t think about it, just do it. Don’t philosophize, just do it.

 

Although this certainly isn’t something that you would apply to everything in your life, this can be applied to prayer. Prayer is an action, not a philosophy. If we continually pray, then God will continually answer. God doesn’t say if we continually read or think about something that He will answer. We must get out of the realm of the hypothetical and enter the realm of reality, where result is based upon action. God is sovereign in everything, of course, but in His sovereignty He has chosen for us to depend upon Him for the things we need.

 

I am afraid that one of the greatest sins in Christianity today is prayerlessness. Do we doubt God’s power? Is that why we don’t pray? When my children were younger, they seemed to have the idea that as long as there were checks in our checkbook, there’s still money behind those checks. For us, that is limited. But God is not limited! God always has checks and power behind those checks. Anything you ask, if it is by faith and within the boundaries of His perfect will, He will answer! But we have to ask.

 

There is not much that is more discouraging than a Christian who will not pray. There are abundant blessings in God’s house, just waiting to be poured out on anyone who will choose to pray. Prayer changes things, people, situations, and circumstances. It moves mountains and dries up rain. It convicts souls and banishes temptation. But how useless are all these facts if we do not pray! No more books on prayer, no more seminars, no more songs and sermons. Let us get on our knees and pray. Let us pray in all reality, with no preconceptions other than that which we draw from God’s Word, and then we will see answers. Then we will see revival.

 

How about you? Are you experiencing prayer? Remember this promise “Ask, and it shall be given…” and trust that God is more than able to do exceeding abundantly.

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