Monday, September 5, 2011
A Generous Father
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” —John 15:7
A teenage boy who had just received his driver’s license was asking to use the family car. His dad, who was known for being stingy, told him, “I will make a deal with you, Son. If you get straight A’s in school for this semester, if you keep your room clean, do the yard work, take out the trash every week, and finally cut your hair, then I will let you drive the family car.”
A few months later, the boy went back to his father and told him that he had gotten straight A’s that semester, had done all his chores, and had taken out the trash each week. His dad took note of it and then said, “But Son, I noticed you didn’t cut your hair.”
The boy answered, “But Dad, Jesus had long hair.”
“That’s true,” his father told him. “And Jesus also walked everywhere He went. So cut your hair.”
Thankfully, as believers, we do not have a stingy dad. We have a Father in heaven who loves to bless us and lavish gifts upon us. He is more than generous. Jesus said, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). So we come to Him day after day, seeking His blessing and seeking His provision.
The objective of prayer is to get our will in alignment with God’s will. And once that takes place, we will see our prayers answered more often in the affirmative. Jesus summed it up this way: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you” (John 15:7). If we are abiding in Him, if we are spending time in His Word, then it will change us. It also will change the things we pray for.
Summary sentence: Abiding in Jesus will change the answers to our prayers because it will change the things we pray for!
Tags: generosity
Copyright © 2011 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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