We Just Don’t Ask – That’s All!
Mom died in 1993. When my sister and I began to share the earthly goods that were left, one of the tangible things that I kept is one of my Mother’s Bibles. What is unique about it is not that it has some special note or observation written in the margin, although there are those kinds of notes there. What is powerful is the fact that the page in her Bible that is worn from use is Matthew 7: 7-12. It is the “Ask and it shall be given” passage. It not only was Mom’s favorite verse, it was a practice that she regularly employed in behalf of herself and so many people around the world. Her asking included missionaries with whom she had worked in Africa. Her words embraced us as children and families whether we were near or far away. It was a comforting feeling to know that no matter where she was, that she was in the habit or praying for her family members. She was not afraid to ask.
How are you with asking? Would you rather do it yourself or are you in the habit of routinely asking? I’m not refering just to the asking of a friend for assistance but asking God for help. I hae found that God is just waiting for me to ask for the help. The “ask” means that I recognize that I cannot do it all myself and desperately need His help. Then the rest of the story is this: I often do not have because I do not ask. (Check the Scripture found in James chapter 1).
Through my years in ministry, I have been asked countless times by other to pray for them and have done so. The other side of the coin means that I also need to ask you to pray for me too. How often we have missed the blessing that God has in mind for us and for others simply because we didn’t ask. This “asking” business has no qualifier of being good enough to ask either. God help us in all kinds of circumstances if we will just ask. We probably would be surprised if we would just ask.
