FAITH CAPSULE: When God says yes it is good; when God says no it is good.

2 Samuel 18, 19:1-20

Prayer is communicating with God. In prayer we ask, we seek and knock. It is a command given by Jesus when He stated, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”(Matthew 7:7) It is not a suggestion to pray, it is a task that must be performed. Jesus was so sure about the effect of obeying when He declared, “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” (Matthew 7:8-12) Anyone who asks (prays) obviously knows about the fact that there is a prayer-answering God. Unfortunately, knowing about is not enough, but when there is a knowing there will be the understanding of not giving up in asking but to be persistent. With not just a knowing about prayer, there will understanding that the word of God never fails and He will do what He says He will do. The God who never lies testifies to the efficacy of His word, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11) God commanded: you ask and it shall be given. Are you asking or are you whining? The word of Hezekiah demonstrates that prayer is like a labor room where undeniable proofs are being given birth to. When Sennacherib staged an offensive against Hezekiah by boasting against God through his servant Rabshakeh, Hezekiah confessed, “…This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.” (2 Kings 19:3) The strength to push for birth to come forth is prayer; this is clear in Hezekiah’s reaction. Hezekiah went into prayer. He prayed before the Lord God and God answered his prayer. God sent Isaiah to go and say to Hezekiah, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.” (2 Kings 19:20) Prayer demands strength that comes from God.

Prayer for today: Ask God for strength to persevere in prayer.