August 12

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” —MATTHEW 7:7-8

All through life we are faced with needs and theoretically, at least, we know God has the solution to those needs. For that reason, a constant feature of life is to ‘ask’, to ‘seek’ and to ‘knock’. The promise is that everyone who asks receives, everyone who seeks finds and to everyone who knocks the door will be opened. It follows that the only people who do not receive are those who do not ask, do not seek and do not knock. This is the privilege and right of access to God that is open to every Christian.

The spirit of trust, however, in which we ask is a key characteristic of effective intercession. Jesus asks, “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?” (Matthew 7:9-10). The illustration is almost absurd. No decent father will give his son a stone sandwich in place of bread or snake and chips when he is expecting fish and chips. But that is exactly a fear many of us have where it concerns God. Jesus goes on to say, “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (7:11)

We do not need to detail the fine print of how we would like our prayers answered, but simply bring God in with the assurance He knows what He is doing and He does what is right. When bringing a need before God, we often fear the snake instead of the fish, because deep down we assume God may not be kind to us or we do not deserve what we ask. It is true God may not give us what we ask, for He is too wise, too kind and too knowing for that, but He does give us what is right!

It is in this spirit and with this confidence we are invited to ask, seek and knock. Our poverty can so often be attributed to one source, “You do not have because you do not ask.” When we ask with right motives and treat others as we would like to be treated, it is bread, not stone, and fish, not snake God gives us. God is actually on our side! He loves us and is committed to us, and we enjoy that to the measure we, in turn, love God and are committed to Him. In fact, our response to the love of God reciprocated in love for Him creates the relationship and framework from which all else derives.

PRAYER: Thank you, Lord, that we are able to come to You with our needs, knowing that what You give may not be what we ask, but it will be right!

TO REFLECT UPON: Have my prayers been answered by God in a way I did not expect?