Jesus, make it clear to me that You are the answer to not only drugs issues, You are the answer to all the aspects of my life. However, teach me that a relationship with You requires the two issues You have been talking to me about...asking and faith. Show me that first, I have to ask You for things so as to invite You into each and every situation. Second, I have to believe, have faith, trust, rely, and depend on You. Show me that these things aren’t optional.

Jesus, I could be working on a job and trusting, believing, having faith, and relying on the fact that they will pay me. I probably wouldn’t be willing to go to all that trouble and do all that work, if I weren’t going to get paid. In this illustration show me that there may be a lot of reasons for me to “believe” they WILL pay me. Then help me use this illustration to see how You will be building faith and trust in me.

Jesus, teach me that faith works the same in the world around me like it works in my relationship with You. If I am working for a company that has a lot of employees, if all of them are being paid, that would help me BELIEVE I will get the same treatment; I would believe because of other people. If I have worked for any length of time with the company, then I would BELIEVE because I have a history of regularly being paid by them. If I am friends with the owner, that would really help me BELIEVE I will get paid; I believe because I have a relationship with them.

Jesus, just like in this job illustration, help me see how it relates to having faith in You. Show me that there are three aspects to the faith that I have with You. Just like it helps to believe I will get paid on a job where there are people being paid regularly; it helps to believe if I have a payment history with the company; and, it helps to believe if I have a special relationship with the owner. Now, help see these principles as they relate to You.

1. Jesus, since large quantities of people have been healed, blessed, and helped by You, if You will do it for them, I believe You will do it for me.


2. Jesus, no matter what my relationship with You has been in the past, You have been taking good care of me by giving me all the benefits of this planet. That gives me a history with You; that also helps me believe in You.


3. Jesus, soon I will have experienced many special miracles and blessings from You. That will give me a close relationship with You; and, it will eventually help me accept You as my best friend. That will really help me have faith in You.

Jesus, take the job illustration and teach me that there are six things I would have to do to gain the benefits of that job.

1. DESIRE, if I didn’t want it, I wouldn’t be willing to apply for it.


2. STUDY, if my research, talking with other people, and interviewing for the job didn’t help me know it was the job for me, I wouldn’t take the job.


3. PRAY, if I didn’t apply or ask for it even though I wanted it because all my research caused me to want it, I wouldn’t get it.


4. BELIEVE, if I didn’t trust them because of all my talking to other people, my own personal research, and my interview with the company, I wouldn’t apply for the job.


5. LOVE, love may be too strong of a word here; but, if I ended up not LIKING the people in the company, I wouldn’t apply for it.


6. FAITH-ACTION, if I got the job but didn’t show up for work, I still wouldn’t get the benefits of HAVING the job.

Jesus, teach me that without these six things, none of the benefits I would have gained from that company would ever be made available to me. Make it clear to me that, that is the way my relationship with You works.

Jesus, help me understand that even if I didn’t like the job or the people in the company, I could still get the job. And, I could still get the benefits of working for that company . But, help me not try to establish that kind of “business” relationship with You. Help me not try to apply five of the six things just so I can get things I need from You; help me want them because I love and respet You; keep me from trying to use You. Keep me from just apply the principles to get what I want. Protect me from praying and asking You for it and then trying to start believing that You will give it to me. You know my heart and only respond to me when I am willing to establish a love and faith relationship with You.