Luke 5:12-13
And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed." Immediately the leprosy left him.

I wonder how many times we fall at the feet of Jesus asking him for any number of things, and then get up and walk away…never really expecting that He would do what we had asked. As I read this verse I am impressed with the willingness of Jesus to respond to the man’s request, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Notice that this man didn’t say, “I know you are willing!” but instead, “Lord, if You are willing”. We mustn’t forget that the Lord is always willing. He is always willing to move us towards that place of spiritual maturity where we are loving and trusting Him more. Remember that He is faithful to complete the good work He began in you (Phil 1:6). We are the ones who are unfaithful. We are the ones who give in to disbelief. We are the ones who can be easily overcome by our circumstances to the point of giving the enemy of doubt a foothold in our lives. But God is faithful! It is God’s greatest desire that we would become everything He created us to be. Our part is simply to ask and then believe. James 4:3 says, You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss. The word amiss means ‘wrongly, incorrect, inappropriate, not as it should be’. When we ask amiss…we are asking with the wrong motives, we are asking in accordance with our will rather than God’s will. This is the epitome of disbelief…because it is believing that we know better than God. Part of asking wrongly or amiss is not believing that God is going to answer our prayers. God will always answer prayers that are in accordance with His best for our lives…we can count on it!0

Lord Jesus, forgive us for the times when we have asked amiss, for the times when we have come to You asking…only to walk away disbelieving that you would answer. Teach us how to ask in faith knowing that You are always working things for good on our behalf. Breathe into us that eternal perspective on life that will cause us to trust You more than ever. In Your precious and powerful name we pray…Amen!!

May God richly bless and encourage you this week as you come before Him believing that He is willing. He has so very much for you if you would but ask…and when you do, ask with a heart that knows how much He loves you and how He desires to pour out His unlimited spiritual blessings upon your life.