“Solomon loved the Lord… And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great high place… At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give you.’ And Solomon said, ‘You have shown great and steadfast love to your servant David my father, because he walked before you in faithfulness, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart toward you. And you have kept for him this great and steadfast love and have given him a son to sit on his throne this day. And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of David my father, although I am but a little child. I do not know how to go out or come in. And your servant is in the midst of your people whom you have chosen, a great people, too many to be numbered or counted for multitude. Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?’
“It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this.” 1 Kings 3:3-10
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do… Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.9 Pray then like this:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.'”
“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 the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 6:7a,8-13; 7:7-8
“He said to them, ‘What do you want me to do for you?'” Mark 10:36
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” John 14:13-14
“You do not have, because you do not ask.” James 4:2
The spotlight in scripture on powerful prayers is on the Ask-ee, not the asker. Repeatedly, when bold and specific requests are spoken and answered, the pleas are based on the wealth and worthiness of God to whom they are voiced. When Jesus modeled prayer, He began with the hallowed name of His Heavenly Father. He is the One who’s opened the avenue for communication, He’s the One sufficient and generous and gladly able to respond and fulfill. (1 Chronicles 29:10-18; Nehemiah 9:5-6; Daniel 9:4-10)
How do we ask of the Lord? When our mindset is get-get, we approach Him with me and my wants at the fore. But when even the seeking seeks first His best and will and glory, our thinking is filled with the Whom we address. His highness and greatness fills and transforms our very asking to align with His ways, character, and purposes.
How might our love for Jesus and the effectiveness of our prayers be heightened if we developed a higher view of God?
Father, fill my mind and desire with You as the impetus and end of prayer, that Your glory abound.
As the rain and snow 