If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? — MATTHEW 7:11  

Would you, as a parent, plan, purpose and will for your children to go through life poverty-stricken, sick, downtrodden, downcast, down-and out, with their nose to the grindstone, getting nowhere?

No! You most certainly would not! Yet most people, Christians and non-believers alike, do not believe that God is a loving Father. They believe He has horrible parenting skills, worse that the worst worldly parent on earth.

When they come to him in prayer, needing something important from Him, they don’t REALLY believe He is going to answer. They don’t believe He is into “good gifts” or they believe if He does answer it will be a resounding “NO”!

There is a lie people love to quote – “God always answers prayer. Sometimes it is YES. Sometimes it is MAYBE. Sometimes it is NO.”

These are people who do not know God.  At all.

John 14:21 says: (MSG) “The person who knows my commandments and keeps them, that’s who loves me. And the person who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and make myself plain to him.”

F.F. Bosworth (1920’s American evangelist and author) said, “Most Christians feed their bodies three hot meals a day and their spirits one cold snack a week, and then they wonder why they are so weak in faith.”

Feed your faith daily! It is of utmost importance to your walk with God. It is a foundation for faith. If you spend time reading your Bible, you will begin to KNOW God and His ways. That, in turn, will build up your faith and you will be confident in His love toward you.

Then when you go to Him in prayer, you will know your prayers will be answered with a resounding YES! Why? Because you won’t be asking anything He can’t do – like asking Him to take out a pesky co-worker.

Nope, you will know to pray for that co-worker, to walk in love toward that co-worker, and you will be… nice… to that co-worker! You will leave the co-worker in God’s hands. You might even ask God to bless that co-worker.

Make a decision to spend time reading your Bible or a good faith-based devotional every single day. You need physical food every day, you need spiritual food every day. Find something you WILL read. Start with short devotionals that interest you and don’t try to do too much or you’ll quit.

As you do read your Bible or devotional, you will be amazed how your life will begin to change for the better.

As your life changes for the better, you will experience the BEST year ever in 2017!!  All because you made the one choice that will help change your life for the better.