Spring is still trying to begin in our neck of the woods, but the north wind doth blow, still – no not ‘still’ still!

Absolutely love Optimist Printers sign “Silly Rabbit, Easter is for Jesus!”

Getting a T-shirt printed up. 

Carla has tomorrow off, as of now anyway, and she is looking forward to the next couple days, playing in the dirt.  As long as she doesn’t get pneumonia, that will be great!

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“We can use the Lord for anything—or try to use Him. But what I'm preaching and what Paul taught and what was brought down through the years and what gave breath to the modern missionary movement that you and I know about and belong to was just the opposite: "O, God, we don't want anything You have, we want You." That's the cry of a soul on its way up.”  - A.W. Tozer

Philippians 3:13-14  KJV  “ Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

¹⁴ I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

How many times to we pray to have God DO something specific on our behalf, or even on behalf of another – expecting Him to just snap His fingers and give us what we want.

Okay, we don’t do it exactly like that, but we might as well do so since that is our attitude at the time.

Yes, there is nothing wrong with praying for the salvation or healing or other needs of ourselves or others – there is nothing wrong with praying for God’s blessing.

John 14:12-14  KJV  “ 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.”

Far too often, though, we treat these and other similar verses as a stamp of approval on all we pray for; after all we asked for it in Jesus’ name.

But what are we asking?  How are we asking?

Are we demanding?  Are we expecting Him to do what we say, the way we say we want it?

Where is our heart?  What is our motivation?

God does want to answer our prayers, however, “that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

John 19:23-24 KJV “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.

²⁴ Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.”

“that your joy may be full.”  Isn’t the same thing as receiving everything in the world that we may think we want to make us ‘happy.’  It is the Joy of having been blessed by and drawn nearer to God in His service.

It isn’t for our glorification, it isn’t so we can stick our chest our and say ‘see what God has done for me, how important I am?’

Whatever we ask of God, it should be with a humble spirit believing He will answer our prayers – not for our sake, but for His glorification.  And His glorification may be saying NO; as He knows what is to come.

We just need to remember that God is not at our beck and call – but we should be at His; when we realize that, fully, then our Joy really is made full.

Later,  Art (-: