In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus spoke of various grounds into which the seed of the gospel fell. In one the plant came up luxuriantly, but was choked out by weeds and died. Jesus was warning us about being encumbered with the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches and other things entering in, and the Word of God becomes choked and unfruitful.
From time to time I set apart a few days to spend in earnest prayer and Bible study so the gospel may find a warm place in my heart. As I pray and read the Bible, I wait on the Spirit for His inspiration. I have with me a yellow pad so that I can write down whatever is being said. The Holy Spirit urged me with the words of Jesus: “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
God in His goodness gives me advice, correction and key points for our respective organizations for the new year. Along the way, He gives me in rather broad strokes what the world can expect in the year to come.
The answers were already coming in a dramatic fashion because the Lord says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
My three lifelong prayer requests are said over and over again: I want wisdom, I want anointing and I want favor. Recently I asked God for a special glimpse of His power because the world was entering into a state of confusion. We need to know the reality of the Rock who holds it all together.
Whatever others may say about me, I say to anyone who is reading: The promises of God are for His people, and He is saying, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full!”
When I look back over the years, I see some works that the Lord has led me to establish that I hope will survive any times of trouble that may come on the face of the earth. I carry with me the marvelous realization that I have been married to a beautiful lady for 67 years. I have not only four wonderfully talented children but many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. What more of a blessing can any human being ask for than what has been bestowed upon me by a gracious God as I have walked with Him for 92 years?
The apostle Paul wrote, “I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Tim 1:12).
I can say with great certainty that He who causes everything to be has never failed me once. He has never disappointed me. He has always been there when I needed Him. He is my closest friend and the anchor of my soul. What He has done for me He will do for you. He is waiting for us to acknowledge, “He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
We read that the patriarch Abraham “believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” The Bible tells us that “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”
I have asked God for wisdom, and He has given it to me. I have asked God for His anointing, and He has given it to me. I have asked God for favor, and He has given it to me. The Bible says, “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
There are many more instances when our Lord has spoken to me, when His Spirit has led me and when His hand has reached out to hold mine. The Bible tells us that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.”
I have walked with the living God. I urge you to begin the adventure of a lifetime and begin your walk with the living God today.
