As you may already know, this is an exploration of Jesus' promise to do what we ask in His name. There is so much that we could talk about. The passage in John 14 is only one of many places in the Bible where God promises to answer our prayers. But, I am going to limit my discussion to the things that I have experienced. And, so, I want to talk about some of the times when I recognized God entering into my life.
When I was a teenager, I struggled to make sense of things. I didn't get into trouble. I was a decent student. I played sports. You wouldn't have thought that I was headed for a troubled life, just by watching me. You would have thought, "There is a moody teenager. When is he going to grow up and quit being so selfish?" What I was struggling with was the gap between what I knew was right and how I wanted to live. My parents took me to church, and I believed what they said there, even if it was a little boring. I just couldn't find the will power to live life the way I thought a Christian should live. So, basically, I was being a hypocrite, and I knew it. My friends were pulling me a different direction, and I could look into my future and see that it wasn't going to change. I remember just saying, "God, I can't live life the way you want me to." It wasn't defiance; it was defeat. The next Sunday, we went to a different church. I saw a couple girls my age sitting a few rows up and thought they were cute. Maybe I could get to know them. I got invited to youth group that evening at a neighbor's house. My mom dropped me off. There were the girls I had seen that morning, along with some guys my age dressed in jeans and flannel shirts, just like me. They were studying the Bible. Now I was studying the Bible. Everything I was struggling with melted away, instantly. I realized that I had prayed (even if it didn't seem like much of a prayer), and God had answered.
(Yes, we were cool!)
Now, on to college. I went to college on a football scholarship. It was a small (at the time) school with big dreams for athletics. But, when I got there I was on the third team. For anyone with limited athletic knowledge, that meant there were two players who were going to play in front of me, and I was destined to watch them. It was a Christian school, so the R.A. in my dormitory led us in a Bible reading, occasionally. One night, he encouraged us to ask God for what we really wanted. That night, I remember asking God to be on the first team (the guys who would play). The next day at practice, they moved the first team guy to a different position, and moved me from third team up to first team. That is where I stayed the rest of my career.
Then I met a girl, and we got married. We didn't have much money (sounds like the words to a song, so far). In fact, once, I had fifty dollars in my wallet, and that was supposed to last us the week. My wife felt strongly that we needed to put the money in the offering plate at church, because of a commitment we had made. So we did. The next day, an envelope came in the mail with fifty dollars in it. I don't remember why, but it was definitely unexpected.
Even though those are small events, they were times when I knew that God was intervening in my affairs. It would be nice if I could say that I learned great lessons from those times, but it would be more accurate to say that I didn't continue to live up to those moments. Even now, I need to relearn the truth. Is it possible to generalize from those experiences? Is God always going to make it easy for me to follow Him, by surrounding me with people like me? No. The lesson is that, yes, it is impossible to follow God in your own strength and by your own will power. Hebrews 11:6 says that "Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Is God always going to promote me to a place of prominence? No. He may call on me to die, and if not to die, then He will call on me to die to myself. But He knows how to take better care of me than I do. Matthew 6:33 says to "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." Is God always going to make me wealthy by giving me money, if I just trust Him? No. I don't want to be wealthy. I want to be free. The desire for riches is a trap for many people. But God will reward generous people. Luke 6:38: "Give and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure-pressed down, shaken together, and running over."
The most important lesson is that God is not a system of asking and receiving that you can take advantage of. God is a Person who loves you. And He wants to prove His love for you.