Ask For Them

I have been praying for something very specific these last few weeks. Even before our world shut down, I have been asking God for more clarity in my writing and for my social media posts. I have been feeling incredibly anxious and overwhelmed by this pull to constantly share and encourage the women I come across on the internet and in my community and tell them about Jesus and remind them that God is not finished.

That has been a regular recurring theme in my messages lately. Yes, these times are hard and it sure feels like it may never end. But God is not done.

So my prayer has been for more women to come. I am praying for more follows on my Instagram, but not so that I can become more popular and sell more products....but so that the message would be heard by more women.

I have been praying for more women to subscribe to my blog. Again, not so that I can just grow my business and make a ton of money, but so that more of the message of hope and Jesus can be heard and spread.

I know that God's power is not limited by the amount of followers I have or how many likes I have gained, or by how many people read my blog. But, I am okay with asking for Him to bring more to this very place so that I can continue to do what I believe God has asked me to do. That is to encourage and build up God's daughters.

In Matthew 7:7

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Now, for most people, they will read that verse and apply it to asking for treasures or their wants. They will often use this verse to mean that we can ask for more earthly things like more financial blessing, a new relationship, a better job, etc. This isn't bad, per se, but it isn't all that we should be asking God for. I think we can ask for much bigger than that.

When we love God, our hearts begin to transform and mold to His. This means that the things of God become our wants and desires too. Does this sound too churchy? Hang in there with me. I used to feel this way too.

A long time ago, as a brand new Christian, I was sitting in one of my favorite little book store coffee shops. I often found myself there instead of going to my college classes (sorry Mom and Dad!) and would just spend a great deal of time studying my bible or doing some new bible study I purchased from said bookstore (I spent so much money there!) or I would simply journal. I always made sure I had a notebook so that I could fill its pages with every thought, prayer, question or wonder that would cross my mind. In fact, I am sure that if I were to go to my parents house right now, there would be several filled journals in their garage with some of my most precious thoughts.

Next to me was a woman who was sitting there, doing what I would assume her own time of study, and she began packing up her items to leave. She walked over to me, smiled, and said "I don't know why, but I just felt like I needed to tell you that the Lord will give you the desires of your heart. I hope you have a really good day."

"Thank you so much. I hope you have a good day too," I said, not really knowing what else I should say to her. It was a completely random moment and then she was gone, doing whatever she needed to do for that day.

I sat for a bit, thinking about what she said. I looked up the Bible verse, pretty sure it was something that could be found in Psalms or Proverbs.

Sure enough, found in Psalms 37:4:

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

So you know what I naturally assumed?

That God was going to make me famous if I just delighted in Him! See, my goal at that time was to become an actress or a singer and use my talent for "God's Glory." I was young, people. And I really did not understand a lot about the will of God, except that I had been saved by our Savior.

Months later, God would impress upon my heart that I was to serve and lead women in faith, encourage them and share the good news. A far cry from my former dreams of being an entertainer for the Kingdom.

I was to share the good news and I was to share with women all around me.

As I grew in my relationship with God, He changed the desires of my heart to more reflect His heart. Not because my dreams and goals were necessarily bad. I enjoyed singing and performing and would still utilize those talents while serving in ministry after I got married. What really changed though was my focus was less on myself and what I wanted and more on what God desired for me. What, ultimately, He had already planned out for me and was giving me a sneak peek at what was to come.

So, today I am asking. Asking God to show me women who still need to hear the good news and need a message of hope today. I am seeking these women, willingly stepping out and build connections and bridges to them and inviting them into my space so they can be built up. During my study time, I typed in Matthew 7:7 to my bible study software and found that the point is this: that when God's people pursue something, God will respond with faithfulness and generosity.

Now, years later, here I am asking for God to bring the people. I am seeking them in order to share with them. So I am asking Him to bring them here in this space, on my social media places, to this blog community, so that they can be found and that I can encourage them in the faith. So that I can share good news, hope, love, and other things things that I believe can be of value to them, especially during this time that we find ourselves in.

Your desires that you have now, they may not necessarily be bad. Just not big enough. I truly believe part of the daily work God does in us is the transformation of our hearts to be more like His. That our initial desires and dreams, once just about ourselves and extremely limited, suddenly become aligned with His and are big and audacious. I would even say down right scary and intimidating. So we ask for His wisdom and we ask that He provide the means and the way while we seek. And He, as only He can, will allow whatever it is we are seeking to be discovered.

This happens because God says it will happen. He is generous and faithful.

So go ahead, and ask for them.

In His Service,

Tiffany