Topic: God Grows Your Faith Through Prayer [RICK WARREN Devotional 11 JANUARY   2023]

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God Grows Your Faith Through Prayer

BY RICK WARREN — JANUARY 11, 2023
FROM LIVING IN THE GOODNESS OF GOD

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Matthew 7:7 (NIV)

God is not only able to meet all of your needs; he’s eager to meet them! But when you forget how committed God is to help you, it’s easy to stop asking for his help and to start depending on yourself.

Perhaps you only ask God for the “big stuff” and not the “small stuff.” Guess what? Everything is small to God. None of your requests are big in God’s eyes. He has every hair on your head numbered, and he knows how many fell out in the sink this morning.

You’re not bothering God when you give him your requests; he’s the one who set up the system of prayer in the first place. That’s why the New Testament tells you more than 20 times to ask for whatever you need in prayer. Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (NIV).

Sometimes, instead of asking God for something, you just worry about it. But if it’s big enough to worry about, it’s big enough to pray about. Worry won’t solve anything, but prayer will.

God grows your faith and trust the same way a parent teaches a child to trust. The Bible says,
“If you . . . know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give . . . to those who ask him” (Luke 11:13 NLT).

Here’s how it works between a parent and child. First, the child recognizes an unmet need. Second, the child expresses that need. Third, the parent meets that need.

God uses this same cycle to teach you how to trust him: You have an unmet need. You express that unmet need to God. He meets that need, and you learn to trust him more.

If you’re not expressing your needs to God, how can you grow in trust?

When you ask God, he will always prove his goodness. But sometimes you’ll have to wait patiently for God’s timing to deliver. He often does not give immediate answers because he wants to test your faith.

Go ahead—try it today. Take your needs to God in prayer. Then watch for the ways he answers your prayers and meets those needs. You’ll learn to trust that God is reliable and that you can count on him, no matter what.

Talk It Over

• What lies about yourself or about God keep you from asking for his help?
• One of the main ways God tests your trust and faith in him is through your finances. Why do you think this is so?
• What do you need help with today? Start by expressing gratitude for what God has already done for you, and then ask for his help.  

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