YES!!!!

Back to the 100 positive words... today the word is YES! I am sure we all want to hear this word more than the opposite most of the time. I mean in life, yes is better than no.... mostly. In the case of sickness you want to hear no more, I would think... like no cancer, no heart issues, no sickness. 

As I was deciding how to approach this word I looked up the word yes in the Bible. In the New King James Version (NKJV) it is found 213 times. None of those times really had anything to do with the approach I wanted to take with this.... so I looked up ask... that word is found 286 times in the NKJV. The verse I want to focus on are mostly in the new testament. I want to talk about prayers, questions, and life situations that are answered with.... Yes!

"Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away." Matthew 5:42

This is from the same passage where the beatitudes are found. It is near the end of the chapter where Jesus is speaking of going the extra mile... even if it hurts, say Yes if it is in your power to do so. In other words even in the face of persecution, turn the other cheek and give unconditionally.

 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him." Matthew 6:8

In this verse Jesus is about to teach the disciples how to pray, but before He did that He told them to not be like the people who give charitably, and pray to be seen by people. God knows our hearts and whether we are praying, asking, and giving with the right intentions or not. We as humans are selfish, it is just the nature of the beast within us. Even when praying for sick friends we are selfish, asking for them to be healed or for miracles. Don't get me wrong, I believe God wants to perform healing miracles, He wants our happiness. We also have to realize that His healing may come through flood, fire, and death. Some times the best healing a person can get is to be taken home to heaven, to end their suffering here... God knows our needs and His will, pray like you believe that, His yes may not be exactly the healing you thought it would be.

 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 7:7-12

This is still part of the sermon on the mount, Jesus is teaching His disciples more about God's character and the character that every christian should show. God will give us what was ask for... but we always need to be careful what we ask for. I can remember hearing this example in church growing up, when a man prays for a "nice" car so he can get to work. He is offered a car for free but turns it down because he wanted a "nice" car. God sent him a car... He answered the man's prayer. Another example I heard was this....

A man is ship wrecked in the middle of a storm tossed sea and prays Lord Save me! He sees a life jacket floating near him. He let's it pass by because he prayed for God to save him. He sees a man in a boat rowing toward him, the man offers his help. The ship wrecked man says no I am waiting for God to save me, I know He will! A little while later, a helicopter lets down a ladder and the man waved them away. Shortly after that the man drowns and goes to heaven. He asked God... Why didn't you save me? God answered, son I sent a life jacket, a boat, and the helicopter. You refused them all.... 

Many times, we pray expecting the YES we want... God knows what we need and His Yes, may not be the same as ours... I guess I need to go to the old testament here...

"For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.        Jeremiah 29:10-14

These verses are about God's plans for His people, the Jews... we can use it as a promise for us today... God knows His plans for our lives... His yes is yes, and His no is no... We have no way of knowing how His yes and no will change what happens to us in the future... God sees the full forest, we see a few trees.  So remember, a no is not bad always and a yes isn't always good. Trust God, ask what you will with the right intention and then except God's answer.

Thanks for reading. God Bless You All!

This picture is from my prayer journal, sometimes when I pray I doodle or write about the requests I am making... today this was the 'Heart" of my prayer...