God is the provider of all good gifts (SS)

We know God is our provider, he gives us all our basic needs, life, food, clothes, shelter, health and a family that loves us. God also gives us our wants, we may want a good paying job a beautiful/handsome spouse, a nice house, a fast car, a farm with a lot of plants and animals.

 Today we will be doing a short bible study on how and what we should request from the Lord.

Why do we ask?

Before we ask God, we must first analyze our motives, are they selfish, are they according to the law and will of God?

James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. 3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

Once we have a right motive for our requests that is in line with God’s will, we should not be afraid to ask. Some people are afraid to ask God for things because they think God will not give them the best. For example, some men are afraid to ask for a godly wife in fear that she may be too boring and conservative. They may think God’s choice will not be a a spontaneous, fun loving character, just a person with a straight face with their head buried in the bible.

Regardless of what we think we like, God knows what is best for us. Contrary to popular belief, what is best for us is not always opposite from what we like. God will give us the thinks we like as well as the things that are good for us, once they are in line with his perfect will for our lives.

All good gifts

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. 9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? 10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Prayer of Faith

Our prayers should also be in faith, if we need something to happen, but pray without truly believing, our prayers will be ineffective. Read the following texts about the power of a prayer of faith.

James 1:6-8  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Mark 11: 20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. 22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. 24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

James 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

John14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. 12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

The righteous prayer

God will always listen to a sinners prayer but only if that prayer is a prayer of repentance.

Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:

But once we are walking according to the will of God, trust in Him and keep his commandments, He will always answer our prayers in the way that is best for us.

Psalm 37:3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. 4 Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

1 John 3: 21 Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

22 And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. 23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 24 And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Lesson Study

Will God answer all the prayers of the righteous?

It is said God has four answers for our prayers:

1. YES
2. NO - I have something better in store
3. NO - This trial is to make you stronger
4. Wait - I will give you at the perfect time

God always answers our prayers, we may not always like the answer but it is God working it out for our good. Paul had to struggle with this but in the end he submitted himself to the will of God.

2 Cor 12:8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.