Once agin, I found myself asking God why I should pray. Oh, this is not a knew subject for me. God has already opened his word in the past, in wondrous ways, on the subject of prayer. I’ve seen with my own eyes the POWERFUL work of God through prayer. But I sensed that my mind needed further instruction once again. Perhaps my heart would catch up if I girded myself with truth. What He showed me was simple and profound.
There I read in John 16:24 (the verse for today if you have the Bible app) Jesus’ own words: “Until now you’ve asked nothing in My name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” Okay, great beginning, I thought. I needed a little more. “What does my praying change, Lord?” It was an honest question seeking an answer. After all, He is Sovereign.
My Bible cross referenced John 17:13: “…that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.”
That’s when it hit me. There IS something I receive in prayer. “Ask and you will receive.” I can attest that I do not always receive exactly what I pray for. My greatest prayer is, “not my will, but Your’s be done.” It’s a prayer of acceptance and surrender. I’ve learned to pray this. Yet, Jesus says, “ask and you will receive.” Both verses explain what my mind is slow to grasp. “My joy, that’s what I will give you,” Jesus said. “Ask, so that your joy will be FULL… AND IN ME.”
I see it now. I’ve gone through many situations where I failed to ask, and I have therefore failed to receive. The joy was not present as I carried my own burdens and plowed through the cares of this life. But it’s not just joy He gives – it’s Jesus’ own joy! You can’t buy it, you can’t manufacture it. You won’t get it unless you ask.
MY LIFE HAS THIS TESTIMONY! YES! THIS IS THE TRUTH I NEEDED TODAY! But don’t ask for the joy… of course you can… however HIS joy is simply the byproduct of bringing every need, every concern, every care into the presence of our all sufficient God. Try praying about everything… and see what you receive. It just may be something wonderfully unexpected!
“Until now you’ve asked nothing in My name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24
