Thursday Open Heavens Devotional - What Do You Want?

MEMORISE: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Matthew 7 : 7.

READ: 2 KINGS 2 : 9 - 10.

9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me. 10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so. Continue...

You should never assume that because God knows all things, He should know what you want. Neither should you assume that since God knows what you need, He would not ask you the type of question Jesus asked blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10 : 51. The reason God asks such questions may be connected to the fact that people’s hierarchy of needs differ one from another. What is one man’s priority may be of less importance to another. For example, while Elisha wanted a double portion of his master’s spirit, Gehazi his own servant wanted money. Also, Esau wanted food instead of the right of the firstborn. You will be surprised at the responses you will get when you ask people what they want. You may be expecting them to ask for things of eternal value but a lot of them ask for  peanuts. The urgency of your need will determine the fervency of your asking. David was desperate in his need for God, therefore he said in Psalm 42 : 1 :

“As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.”

There was one thing David desired of the Lord in his life time, and this was to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of his life ( Psalm 27 : 4 ). Your desire for a thing spurs you to ask the one you believe can give it to you. However, the price you are willing to pay for what you want, determines whether you are going to get what you desire. Paul desired to know Christ and so he regarded as nothing those things that should have been to his advantage. He suffered a great deal, even to the point of death so that he may gain Christ ( Philippians 3 : 7 -10 ).

God is asking you this day: “What do you want?” It is time to pray and tell God what you want. However, the time at which you want it also matters because some people may have decided to postpone their season of celebration to next year or two years from now. Some people are like Pharaoh who Moses asked when he would want the frogs harassing him and his people to stop and he said: “Tomorrow!” Why tomorrow, why not now ( Exodus 8 : 9 - 10 )? It may sound strange, but this is the attitude of some people when it comes to asking for what they want. They may know the right thing to ask, but then, when they want it may be the problem. When Elijah was to be translated, he asked his disciple - Elisha what he wanted. Elisha did not wink his eyes before he handed his request to his master – a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. He got it because he knew what he wanted, why he wanted it and when he wanted it. May the Lord grant you your request today in Jesus’ Name.

PRAYER POINT: Father, give me your best will today and cause my joy to be full in Jesus’ Name.

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : ESTHER 8 - 10 AND ECCLESIASTES 11.