Luke 11:5-10

5 Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 6 ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ 7 And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ 8 But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.

9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

As I sit here and write to you all, I can sense in my spirit that many of us have dreams that are locked and tucked away.  Many of us have prayers tucked in our hearts with cobwebs that haven’t left our lips due to frustration, doubt, fear, and perhaps anger with God due to what’s seen the natural.  I can sense that many of us have given up on our visions, plans and aspirations because it hasn’t happened on our timeline. But I believe that the Lord has sent me here today to encourage you and to prophesy life back into every dream that appears to be dead!

    Can we be real here?  I know how frustrating it can be to believe and pray for something that has not been fulfilled yet - whether it’s for a spouse, a child, a job, friendships, a home, a business, etc.  Feeling “stuck” has got to be one of the most frustrating feelings ever! And sometimes this feeling causes us to throw in the towel and say “Screw it! I’m done believing for this, it’s a joke!”  Trust me, I’ve once been in this same place myself!

    But what if I propose to you that many of us are giving up in prayer way too quickly?  What if you are just one prayer away from seeing the manifestation of what you are believing for?  We can see in the text above that if we keep on asking, if we keep on seeking and if we keep on knocking, the Father will give us whatever we need because of our shameless persistence!

    I’ll never forget when the Lord had me minister this word to a congregation and He told me to let His people know that we aren’t annoying Him enough with our requests!  How funny is that?! We need to be so persistent in pursuing God in DESPERATION that it causes Him to give us exactly what we cried out for - similarly to the man in the parable above who annoyed his neighbor so badly for bread that he actually got out of bed at midnight to give it him.  We need to get to a place of desperation where we say God I am not going to leave until you open this door for me! A desperate cry is what leads to an answered prayer!  Many of our dreams and promises received by God have not yet been manifested because we have given up in asking in our secret place. Here’s a thought for you: how hungry are you to see God fulfill the desires He placed in your heart?  Your level of prayer should match your level of expectation and desperation to see it come to past.

    Now let me be clear ya’ll, GOD IS NOT A GENIE! Sometimes I fear that some of us feel that we should get whatever we want, when we want it! Let me tell you first and foremost, this is not the case and we need to be willing to align our hearts with the will of God for our lives.  What do I mean by this? Proverbs 19:21 says “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails”. So while we keep on asking, seeking and knocking for the things we are praying for, we must be submitted to God’s plan.  If that means what you desire is not God’s will for you, then you must adjust to what He is saying and pray according to that.  Here’s an example, if you are courting and praying for this person to be your spouse and God gives you a clear NO, adjust and align your heart with His and let it go.  If you are praying and believing to move into a home in the next 6 months and God says, “actually I want you to move in a year”, adjust and align your heart with His.  If you are praying to go away to an Ivy League college and God says “I want you to stay home and go to this University nearby instead”, adjust and align your heart with His and follow suit! He knows greater!  Remember He sits high and looks down low. Whenever God has a different route than ours, it always leads to better! Trust God’s planning over your own!

    I know this post was particularly long, but I believe if you made it to the end, then this was for YOU!  I believe God has sent me to encourage you to not give up on your dreams, to hope again and to wait in anticipation for Him to do what He has already shown you.  Keep on asking, keep on seeking, keep on asking! Keep on and keep on some more! You may just be one prayer away from seeing what you always longed for!

Prayer:

Lord, I pray for the person reading this right now!  I pray that you would revive every dream and vision that has been tucked away due to fear, failure, doubt, lack of patience or disappointment.  I pray that (s)he would be encouraged in knowing that you long to bless your children with every good gift in alignment with your will and timing.  Father God, I prophesy that you would awaken every dream and aspiration that is dead.  Holy Spirit, would you breathe your breath of life right now?  Open up the graves and restore every promise that appears to be dead.  I pray that (s)he will have the strength and faith to pray again for that which (s)he has given up on.  Give her/him the courage to keep on asking, to keep on seeking, and to keep on knocking with a shameless persistence.  I pray that you would fill her/him with the fullness of God and may (s)he overflow with an abundance of your love.  This I pray, in the mighty and matchless name of our Beautiful Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

Love you all and until next time...