This morning I would really like the Lord to produce a sermon for me. It would be nice if I didn't have to focus on writing it; but, that's not how it works. God is not going to send a sermon directly to my printer. I must do some listening, some searching, in order to know what He would have me say at worship on Sunday.
God does, indeed, gift us with good gifts without our asking. He gave us His only begotten Son without our asking; without our even realizing that we needed him. But, sometimes we must ask in order to for us to be open to hear His word and His will for us. It is not a matter of God not giving them to us freely for He surely will. However, it is a matter of whether we are willing to receive them or not. And... so we finally ask when we are finally ready to receive.
The older I get, the more I realize that in order to know and do God's will I have to actively seek to practice the presence of God so that I can hear Him. I have to actively seek Him because my human nature would shut Him out as I attempt to go it alone, without Him. This, I have found, is not a very wise idea. Of course, God is always with me; but, there are times when I shut the door on Him and I do not listen; I do not hear His word or His will. Without Him, I can do nothing good. But, with Him all things are possible.
So ask the Lord to open your ears and your heart and your mind so that you can know God's good will for all people. Then spend some time in His word and in prayerful listening so that you can know Him for there is nothing more precious than knowing the Lord. For this reason Christ died for us that we might be reconciled to God our Father through him.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matt 6:33
God's Peace - Pr. J
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