Christian Devotional – February 17, 2026

Observations from the Doctor, Day 13

What are we asking for? Read Luke 11:1-32.

When we think about our relationship with God, we may find that we are constantly making requests of God. We ask God to help us. We ask God for money and prosperity. We ask God about the weather. We ask God to help our sports teams win. We ask God for so many things.

As you read the first part of this chapter, it’s easy to see that the disciples were the same. They wanted Jesus to help them understand how to pray. Jesus wanted them to understand that God is a good father who wants to give good gifts to his children. However, Jesus goes on later to explain that there were some people who were asking for other things. They wanted signs. They wanted specific miracles. Jesus spends the first part of this chapter talking about what is it that we should ask for from God.

God is deeply concerned about every area of our life. He wants to know what we are thinking, and he does want to know the little details that we are asking for. But, we need to understand that God’s priorities are different than ours. God is much less concerned with whether our favorite sports team wins than he is with whether or not we are inviting the Holy Spirit in to guide and lead our life. God wants us to be holy as he is holy. He wants us to seek his holiness.

When we make requests of God, is His holiness ultimately what we are asking for? God gives good gifts to his children, but as parents, there have been times when the gift I have given my children wasn’t necessarily what they wanted or asked for. But it was what they needed. God does the same with us. He has the right to tell us that what we are asking for isn’t in line with his holiness.

We need to understand that what we ask for should be more about the eternal than about the physical and the day-to-day. God knows how to give good gifts to us. Are we praying and asking for good gifts? Or are we asking for things that ultimately won’t help us.

Watch the video devotional here: https://youtu.be/gDFDVnmHm64