Is your mind a cluttered desktop of needs?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Matthew 7:1-20

TO CHEW ON: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8

We are a needy people. I am a needy person—high maintenance. It doesn't take much to get me flying to God again, upset, worried, hurt, anxious, burdened...

Because of my need and dependence, verses like Matthew 7:7-8 are a great comfort. Of course this isn't the only place in the Bible that God promises to respond to our requests. A dozen or so parallel passages give us a fuller understanding of what Jesus is talking about. Let's do a little explore of Bible passages that talk, first about us seeking God, and then about His response (incomplete lists for sure, but a start).

We can ask/seek/knock:

• To find God (Jeremiah 29:13).
• To get His help (Isaiah 30:19).
• For deliverance from fears (Psalm 34:4).
• About anything that springs from anxiety (Philippians 4:6-7).
• For our daily food (Matthew 5:11).
• To be kept from temptation (Matthew 5:13).
• For wisdom (James 1:5).
• For the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4).

God will respond when:

• We believe He will answer (Matthew 21:22; Mark 11:24).
• Our requests line up with His word (John 15:7).
• Our requests line up with His will (1 John 5:14).
• We are obedient (1 John 3:22).
• Our answered prayer will bring glory to God (John 14:13).
• Our answered prayer will result in lasting fruit (John 15:16).
• Our petitions include thanksgiving (Philippians 4:6-7).

We don't need to be preoccupied or mesmerized by the needs weighing on our minds and hearts today. Instead we can take them to God, and so minimize them from the desktop of our minds to the dock of His care.

PRAYER: Dear God, what welcome words these are. Help me to put them into practice in my life today today, believing that You are at work in the circumstances and people that concern me. May peace reign in my mind as I transfer my burdens to You. Amen.

MORE: Ask...Seek...Knock

"The terms are here used with reference to prayer, and these constitute a climax.

- Ask implies a simple petition.

- Seek indicates an earnest search.

- Knock shows perseverance in spite of hindrances.

The three represent earnest prayer"

~ People's New Testament.