Ask and you shall receive
“And I tell you, ask and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened…If you then, who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” Luke 11:9-10, 13
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It is a passage that I have drawn much comfort and solace throughout my walk with Christ. This passage instructs one on how to pray and ask God for temporal and spiritual gifts. The central theme that I believe Jesus is highlighting here is persistence; a quality that is absolutely necessary in the spiritual life.
I must admit that this concept is something that I struggle greatly with. Despite my dedication in serving the Lord these past 5 years I still do not practice this concept as much as I should. Unfortunately a part of me still ascribes to the notion that God is a terrible judge, who grades our entire lives and parcels out his blessings based upon our successful actions. For each failure or shortcoming God takes away what he had promised previously to give. God from this world view seems more like a boss, rewarding his employees only when they perform well or meet his expectations. But according to this passage this view is totally inaccurate and wrong. The reason for this is that Jesus is establishing a new covenant, a new more intimate way of addressing God. This is most evident in the Our Father prayer where Jesus teaches his disciples to address God in a very close and personal way.
Jesus in this verse is commanding us all to ask God with confidence, to trust, and to step forward in faith. This profound change in perception in essence is a plea of humility because one realizes that he is dependent on God for everything, both spiritual and temporal. The words of this verse have impacted me very much in a personal way especially in these past three weeks.
These past three weeks have been a great challenge to me especially financially. As a recent mostly graduated student (I still need to complete my damned internship) entering the marketplace, I found the new challenges of finding gainful employment extremely daunting. This search has challenged my convictions and faith more than anything that I have ever experienced before. I have so many talents and abilities, but I still don’t know what to do or what career would best suit my natural abilities. To top off things I am a married man, who has a deep and all consuming desire to become a provider. During these trying times I simply have no choice but to rely on God. One of the most uplifting things that I have learned during these difficult three weeks is that the Lord did take care of me by providing for me financially, and spiritually giving me a new found courage to ask for more, to trust, to be bold in my requests of him. Now for the boldness part...
Recently I just finished reading Bruce Wilkinson’s Prayer of Jabez where the author challenges one to ask and to expect God’s abundant blessings. At first this notion struck me as hokey, corny, and oversimplified. I did not want some cheap pump me up book, I wanted answers, not hackneyed Tony Robbinsesque, platitudes. What I found through reading the work was that I did not trust in God enough. I sort of had God boxed into a neat 8 x 12 box; anything outside of the box was not real. I later learned through reading this work that this type of thinking was wrong and that if I did not cultivate an expecting faith than I would be depriving God the opportunity to bless my life. A Christian without God’s abundant blessing is like a fisherman without a net. I needed to change my thinking, I needed to ask, to trust, to expect more; if I didn’t do these things than I would be short changing my spiritual walk.
The events of these past three weeks have taught me a valuable lesson that the Lord will always take care of me. I have learned that the Lord wants to bless me and my family, and wants me to always seek and to ask for more. My challenge to each and everyone is to be bold and persistent in your requests of God. If you all do this then you will be providing the fertile soil for God’s lavish blessings. To demand less would be akin to spiritual starvation. Ask and you shall receive.
This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible. It is a passage that I have drawn much comfort and solace throughout my walk with Christ. This passage instructs one on how to pray and ask God for temporal and spiritual gifts. The central theme that I believe Jesus is highlighting here is persistence; a quality that is absolutely necessary in the spiritual life.
I must admit that this concept is something that I struggle greatly with. Despite my dedication in serving the Lord these past 5 years I still do not practice this concept as much as I should. Unfortunately a part of me still ascribes to the notion that God is a terrible judge, who grades our entire lives and parcels out his blessings based upon our successful actions. For each failure or shortcoming God takes away what he had promised previously to give. God from this world view seems more like a boss, rewarding his employees only when they perform well or meet his expectations. But according to this passage this view is totally inaccurate and wrong. The reason for this is that Jesus is establishing a new covenant, a new more intimate way of addressing God. This is most evident in the Our Father prayer where Jesus teaches his disciples to address God in a very close and personal way.
Jesus in this verse is commanding us all to ask God with confidence, to trust, and to step forward in faith. This profound change in perception in essence is a plea of humility because one realizes that he is dependent on God for everything, both spiritual and temporal. The words of this verse have impacted me very much in a personal way especially in these past three weeks.
These past three weeks have been a great challenge to me especially financially. As a recent mostly graduated student (I still need to complete my damned internship) entering the marketplace, I found the new challenges of finding gainful employment extremely daunting. This search has challenged my convictions and faith more than anything that I have ever experienced before. I have so many talents and abilities, but I still don’t know what to do or what career would best suit my natural abilities. To top off things I am a married man, who has a deep and all consuming desire to become a provider. During these trying times I simply have no choice but to rely on God. One of the most uplifting things that I have learned during these difficult three weeks is that the Lord did take care of me by providing for me financially, and spiritually giving me a new found courage to ask for more, to trust, to be bold in my requests of him. Now for the boldness part...
Recently I just finished reading Bruce Wilkinson’s Prayer of Jabez where the author challenges one to ask and to expect God’s abundant blessings. At first this notion struck me as hokey, corny, and oversimplified. I did not want some cheap pump me up book, I wanted answers, not hackneyed Tony Robbinsesque, platitudes. What I found through reading the work was that I did not trust in God enough. I sort of had God boxed into a neat 8 x 12 box; anything outside of the box was not real. I later learned through reading this work that this type of thinking was wrong and that if I did not cultivate an expecting faith than I would be depriving God the opportunity to bless my life. A Christian without God’s abundant blessing is like a fisherman without a net. I needed to change my thinking, I needed to ask, to trust, to expect more; if I didn’t do these things than I would be short changing my spiritual walk.
The events of these past three weeks have taught me a valuable lesson that the Lord will always take care of me. I have learned that the Lord wants to bless me and my family, and wants me to always seek and to ask for more. My challenge to each and everyone is to be bold and persistent in your requests of God. If you all do this then you will be providing the fertile soil for God’s lavish blessings. To demand less would be akin to spiritual starvation. Ask and you shall receive.
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