When it comes to 'prayer,' the Old Testament has much to teach us. 1 Kings 3 may be described as a manual of prayer, or a 'how to' prayer book. "At Gibeon, the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”" (v.5). God is telling King Solomon to ask Him for something. In fact the verb 'ask' occurs eight times in verses.5, 10, 11, 13. The LORD was satisfied with Solomon's request, so we can learn from these verses what true prayer is. Dr Dale Ralph Davis gives us some needed help in this matter.
The true incentive to prayer - the generosity of God (vvs. 5b, 13, 14). Our God is generous in His dealings with us. He wants to give and give and give again. "If you ask anything in My Name, I will give it to you," promised Jesus. God was so pleased with what Solomon asked that He made him a open-ended promise to give whatever he asked. It is to this same lavish and generous God that we, as Christian believers, come to when we pray. When the minister says, 'Let us pray,' he is not just issuing religious words; he is calling the people of God to talk to the King. And we are called to speak to Him because His generosity knows no limits. He is 'the giving God.' God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?” (v.5).
And He's saying exactly the same to you and to me this very day. Come with your mouth filled with requests and let your requests be made known unto God. Pray without ceasing says Paul. Why? Because the God to Whom you pray is anxious to give to you whatever you ask in Christ's Name. So keep on praying.
No comments:
Post a Comment