Wisdom Scripture
“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)
Wisdom Quote
“True wisdom is a gift from God to those who ask it (Job 28:12–28; Prov. 3:13–18; Rom. 1:22; 16:27; 1 Cor. 1:17–21; 2:6–8; James 1:5).”¹
¹ Easton, M. G. Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature. 1893: 694. Print.
Power Unused
What if a powerful practice has been sitting in your hands all along, unused or neglected? One core habit that connects your soul with God seems simple, but we rarely practice it in a way that intentionally changes our character.
Here’s the obvious question: Do you regularly ask God to change you?
This is not a guilt question. It’s a freedom question. If God is your Father, then asking for help gives you power to do what you cannot do on your own.
Most of us have prayed thousands of prayers. We bless our meals. We ask for safe travel. We pray hard when someone we love is sick, and we cry out when a crisis hits. We pray for our kids, our finances, and our health. But here is what many of us rarely do: pray specifically, daily, and stubbornly about the one trait we most need God to change.
We ask him for a good day. We rarely ask him, in so many words, “Father, make me patient. Free me from this habit that has been ruining me. Teach me to forgive.”
Prayer is not the last resort after you have tried everything else. Prayer begins the work. Dallas Willard put it plainly: “Prayer is, above all, a means of forming character.”
Let’s cut straight to what matters: How do you ask God for the specific help you need to change one trait at a time?
Prayer Is Talking with God
At its simplest, prayer is talking with God, a real person who loves you and has the power to change you. That sounds obvious, but a lot of us approach it like a formal presentation to someone distant and hard to please. We worry about doing it “correctly.”
Let me free you from religious formulas. You don’t need to lower your voice, fold your hands, or close your eyes. Those things are fine, but they aren’t necessary. You don’t have to open with “Dear God” or close with “In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Share your heart in your own words. You can simply talk to God the way you would talk to a person because he is a person. Your loving God is not irritated by your need or waiting for you to become eloquent enough to deserve his attention.
He is your Father. You are his child.
