Dear BAGBR Church,

Matthew 7: 1"...how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him." 

Has God given you what you asked for?  When we speak of prayer, often it's because we want to know how God answers prayer, or if He has answered our prayers.  This statement by Jesus clearly states that He answers the prayers of His children.  The most important prayer to be answered is the prayer of Faith in Jesus Christ to save us!  Is He your Father?  If the answer is yes then the next question is...what have you asked from the Father?  Jesus did not say what we should ask for, but rather that we would instead ask of the Father what is good!  We have in our minds what we think is "good," but what if, instead, we  left it up to God?  When we pray we should bring all our requests to God. But, instead of telling Him how to answer, we must trust Him with our requests. Could it be that He has already answered many of our requests?  And yet from our perspective it is not what we desired or had designee--but it is God's "good" choice for us!

May we start thanking Him for being a Good Father.  He knows how to give what we need...that which is Good!  Maybe we need to ask God to help us "see the good" in what we have, where we are, in all of our current life situations.  God always knows what He is doing although we may not! God knows how all of this will work out--although we may not even begin to know!

 Obedient Praying to the Father is not based upon what we know or think but rather how we Trust. Remember the words of Ephesians 3: 20: "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us." As His children we must trust Him because--God is GOOD all the time, and God gives what is Good to those who ask Him! When we shift our praying from complaining to God-to trusting and obeying God-we will begin to "see" more of the "good" of God!