LEARNING DAILY

Mark 11:24, Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Genesis 3:4-7 give an indication the relationship Adam and Eve enjoyed with God before they sinned. They were able to walk and talk with Him and they knew Him as He is (David Jeremiah Study Bible). Take a moment and consider that. Pastor Jonathin Moore shared at NorthRock Church that “their talks were not about getting things. They just talked; it was about Adam and Eve’s relationship to God. Their talks were about God’s will!”

Pastor Moore also spoke about prayer and fasting as NorthRock Church is also encouraging 21-days of prayer and fasting. I hope you got out of yesterday’s blog that prayer and fasting go together. Pastor Moore began his message with the need to “believe” when praying. The emphasis here is to trust God and have the confidence in Him that He is able to do what we ask even before there is any indication of Him doing so. As Pastor Ed Newton emphasized, Pastor Moore made sure his listeners understood that the prayers of believers must align with God’s will.

1 John 5:14-15 is important. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him.” Let this verse clear up any misconception that God gives anything and everything to the one who asks, no matter what it is. God is not Santa Claus, not a vending machine or a robot that gives or does whatever one wants Him to do. He does and answers according to His will and according to what He knows best! He responds to those who ask and believe according to His will! James 4:3 includes the motives of the one praying, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.”

Pastor Moore answered the question, “How do I align with God’s will?” You must “intentionally make the decision that you want God’s will to be done, and you are going to walk with Him.” The way to begin this is to pray and fast! “Prayer and fasting do not change God’s mind about you – it changes your mind about God!” (Pastor Moore). Praying and fasting is not “about manipulating God but to prepare yourself for what God wants to do in your life.” Prayer and fasting is about “connecting to God” (Audrey’s notes). Hebrews 12:1 reminds us, “to lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and run with endurance the race that is set before us”. By prayer and fasting this can be achieved as Believers “humble themselves before God” removing pride and anything else in the lives of Believers that keep them from being who God wants them to be.

As I did in the last page of the blog, I ask all who read this to join me in 21 days of prayer and fasting. Give up whatever God leads you to give up in order to become closer to Him as you walk the narrow way into His Kingdom Believe that He wants to draw closer to you, to give you good things, and to use you for His honor and glory in the days ahead!