Topic: Trusting God in Prayer [Charles Stanley Devotional 14 May 2019]

Click HERE for Previous Devotionals

Matthew 7:7-11

Prayer is one area of our Christian life in which most of us recognize the need for improvement. Not only do we battle with distractions, but we’re also tempted to give up if we don’t see immediate results. Yet the Lord wants us to keep coming to Him with our concerns because in the process, we develop an intimate relationship with Him.

We may find it a struggle to establish a consistent prayer life, but what endeavor could be more valuable than petitioning an omnipotent God for whom nothing is impossible? Of course, that is not to say He’ll give us everything we request, as people don’t always make petitions according to His will. But even when His answer is no, God’s fatherly concern for His children is obvious. Have you ever looked back at past prayer requests and been grateful the Lord didn’t give the answer you hoped for? Sometimes a maturing perspective reveals that getting what you desired would have been disastrous.

In today’s passage, God draws a comparison between earthly fathers and the heavenly Father. If a human father, who is flawed and limited, can offer good things to his children, then it stands to reason that the heavenly Father, who is all-powerful and all-knowing, will give His children superior gifts.

Therefore, we can trust that even if we don’t receive exactly what we’ve requested, our loving heavenly Father is giving us something even more beneficial. Peace and confidence in prayer come when we humbly accept that we’re like children who have a very limited perspective, but our loving Father sees eternally. We can always trust Him to answer our prayers wisely.

Bible in One Year: 2 Chronicles 11-14