Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Don’t Forget to Ask" Tuesday, 1 April 2014 - Read Mark 11:20-25

Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "Don’t Forget to Ask" Tuesday, 1 April 2014 - Read Mark 11:20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away from the roots. 21 Peter, remembering, said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away.”
22 Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. 23 For most certainly I tell you, whoever may tell this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and doesn’t doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is happening; he shall have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I tell you, all things whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received them, and you shall have them. 25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions.
Jesus said, “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”--John 14:14 (NIV)
Since childhood, I have struggled with stuttering. In elementary school I hated reading in front of my classmates. Family members were impatient, and friends teased me by asking me to say words I couldn’t pronounce. My speech problem became a joke that I learned to laugh about as well. Then, one day, while reading my Bible I began to notice the word ask. That’s it, I thought to myself. Jesus told us we could ask for anything in his name and he would do it. In prayer, I began to cry out, asking God to take this aggravation from me. God’s response came when I stumbled across a website dedicated to people who stutter. It suggested that sometimes stuttering can be worsened by not breathing deeply enough before speaking. Really? I thought. Could it be that simple? I began to remind myself to breathe deeply before speaking, and my stuttering problem slowly went away. We all have personal issues and unfortunate life circumstances that God wants to help us with. What are we holding on to that can be given to God? Whatever it is, if we trust what Jesus promised in John 14:14, we can pray daily, asking for help. Then we can wait expectantly for God’s answer.
The Author: Michael Slaughter (Georgia, USA)
Thought for the Day: God knows what I’m going through today and is waiting for me to ask for help.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for allowing us to approach your throne of grace through prayer (Heb. 4:16). Amen.
Prayer focus: Those with speech problems
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