Something far better

You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. – James 4:3

A man who lived far out in the country bought his clothing from a mail-order catalog. At the bottom of the printed order form he noticed this statement: "If we do not have the article you ordered in the stock, may we substitute?"

The first time that he wrote "yes", they sent him something that was worth double the price of the article he had requested. The company explained, "We are sorry we do not have the article in stock which you ordered. We are sending you something better at our expense."

After that, the man said he always printed out much more boldly the word "yes" at the bottom of the order blank. He knew he would not be disappointed by the substitution.

So too, when we pray to God, it is good to tell Him that we are quite willing to let Him take our weak prayers and answer them according to His will. Too often we pray and do not see our requests answered because we selfishly "ask amiss" (James 4:3). Instead, we need to examine the motives of our hearts and trust Him to give us exactly what we need. We can be sure that when we do He will send us something far better, yes, "exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). – Henry G. Bosch

I’ll trust the Lord to do good for me

Whatever He deems best;

I know His answer will exceed

The hope in my request – Hess

READ: James 4:1-8

God’s answers are often wiser than our prayers.

The Bible in one year:

• 1 Kings 3-5

• Luke 20:1-26