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June 8, 2010
Ask Me ...
Sharing your heart with the One that made it! |
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Greetings!
Martin family update: Thank you for praying for our family. Zach's surgery went well and he is on the road to recovery. The doctor said the surgery accomplished its purpose and Zach should be back in form in 6 to 8 weeks. Shelby continues to battle pain but is doing better daily. At this point, there is nothing that can be done for her fractures. She is under the care of a pain management specialist and attending physical therapy. Thanks again for your prayers.
Asking for something can be uncomfortable. Still, we do it daily. We ask for help. We ask for money. We ask for advice. We ask for all sorts of things. Asking is part of life and also part of God's Kingdom.
We need to be more comfortable asking. To do so, we must realize the comfort level of the ask runs in opposition to the nature of the request. The more expensive or costly the request, the more the comfort level goes down. If you ask me to borrow my truck it is one thing. If you ask me for my truck it is something entirely different.
Some folks have an easier time "asking" then others. There are the "entitlement" folks that think it is proper to ask for anything and there are the "reluctant" folks that never ask for anything. We all fall into this range somewhere along the "asking" spectrum. Usually, the ask is easier if we have a decent relationship with the person or group we are asking.
These past months we have been asking folks for help. Help with Royal Family Kids Camp, help in Africa, help in foster care, in ministry and in prayer. It seems we are professional askers of God and people. It has me wondering, "Where is God in this and what is He saying?" |
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God says "Ask Me"
7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 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!
~ Matthew 7:7-11 ~
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.
~ Psalm 2:8 ~ |
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"Come on in and Ask Me" ~ God
In Matthew 7, Jesus is very clear about asking. We are to ask God with diligence, persitence and confidence! It is our role as followers of Jesus to ask of God for answers, solutions, provision, wisdom, healing, grace, forgiveness, favor, and on and on. We are the "askers" that should always be asking. This obviously includes asking of God and asking of man as God leads.
I am sure you have heard of the acronymn for prayer ... ASK. ASK, as displayed in Matthew 7 stands for Ask, Seek, and Knock. Do you think Jesus knew that the words He spoke would be translated in English into the acronym of His very recipe for prayer and discourse with God? I believe He did. This lines up with something my generous God would do. He is basically daring us to share our heart with Him. He is asking us to humbly share our heart with the One that made it.
Some find the concept of asking God anything foreign and contradictory to God's Word. Matthew 6:8 states that God knows our need before we ask it. This is not a blanket release for not praying but a reminder of why we pray. We pray to align our hearts with God. It is through the ask that His heart is revealed both in the answer and in the discourse.
God wants you to ask Him so He can reveal the answers you need and not just what you desire. When we truly ASK of God we are asking, seeking and knocking and His response is to share His heart, His will, and His ways. I cannot tell you how many times I have been before God "asking" and He changes the discourse to reveal His heart to me about the "ask" I have before Him. Here is the reason, when we ask we can receive deeper things about God and ourselves and we can find doors of understanding that God alone can open. God wants us to ASK so He can share His heart with us.
Hebrews 4:16 states, "16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Friend, we are not only to ASK but to ask boldy. God desires to pour out grace and God can handle our inferior and misplaced requests if we are asking with the intent to learn and listen. As such, God will correct our heart and mind and align our ask with His provision and wisdom. Asking is a method to align our heart with God's and His will and ways.
So, what are we to do? We are to ask! God is telling you to come and sit with Him and to discuss life. The God of the universe desires that kind of intimate relationship. A relationship where you, His creation, ask, seek and knock. Friend, God is waiting to respond and share His heart for His Kingdom and for your life! You don't have to live in uncertainty, fear or timidity. God has come to give peace, joy and life!
Ask! Ask boldly! Dare to share your heart with the One that made it and find peace, joy and love through the process.
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For King and Kingdom,
Randy Martin |
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