What have you NOT asked for???

I wish I could go back just in the last few months and tell you how many times God has surprised me with something.

I will tell you one story... I didn't have a ton of money for Christmas gifts for my kids, but I had some. I was proud regardless of the amount because the year before, I did not have a dime. Anyway, out of the blue, I got a message from a friend asking if I'd like a skateboard. She's in Nashville, the skateboard was in Atlanta. Without even seeing the skateboard, I said I would take it. I knew one of my sons would love it. Her husband drove from Nashville, through Atlanta, picked up the skateboard and brought it to me at work. FOR NOTHING. I was totally floored. Who does stuff like that? 

God.

James 4 says in verse 1 through 3, "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures."

There are things that I forget to ask God for. Do you? There are also things I ask for with wrong motives. Ouch.

One thing for example... I am just sitting on my book. I've done a little to move forward. I have an editor, a graphic artist, and a photographer, but yet, it's not done. Something is holding me back. Fear probably. I also think that I had wrong motives before. One of my biggest desires is to be a New York Times Best Selling Author and travel on a book signing tour. But getting rich from this is not a goal I should be going after. I write because I have to. I write because God has a message He needs me to tell. It's not about me at all. 

So I asked God to help me punch fear in the face. To get me over this slump of sitting here not putting my book together. I should have had this done a long time ago. But I haven't even asked God to help me. DUH!

Jesus said in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Also, in John 16: 24, "Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."

God is not a vending machine. We shouldn't expect to pray about something and God just give it to us. The keys here are, we need to ask in Jesus name, and if we don't ask, He can't answer. Your request is NOT to small or TOO large for Him. He is still in the miracle business. Once we do ask, we need to be prepared for God's answer. It might be NO. What are you waiting for? Ask Him!