FRIDAY: DID I ASK FOR THAT?

Dec 2, 2022
3 min read

Lord, I might be asking for all the wrong things. Is that why I feel unfulfilled? Please teach me what to ask for, so my heart can be filled with these things!

Matthew 7:7-12

“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. “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? 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! So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

I find there are generally two types of people in the world: those who never pray for themselves, and those who always pray for what they want. This passage is relevant in both cases. Jesus taught if I need something, I only need to ask for it. I’m certain He wasn’t talking about asking for a new car, since the passages before this have to do with the heart.

If my heart needs something, however, I should ask Jesus for it. If I feel unloved, I should ask for love. If I lack joy, I should ask for joy. If I’m impatient, I should ask for patience.

THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS: The three things Jesus teaches have to do with speaking, looking, and acting:

Everyone who asks receives: By speaking the words, I am voicing the things which are lacking in my heart. The Holy Spirit desires my heart to be filled with the fruit of the Spirit. If I ask God to fill my heart with any fruit of the Spirit I lack, He is sure to do it.

The one who seeks finds: Seeking involves actively looking. If I don’t look, I can’t expect to find anything. I will only find what I desire to give away. If I look for joy, I will only find more if I ask God for it, then give it away, so He can fill me up again.

The one who knocks, the door will be opened. If the door is closed to where God has led me, I need to knock, or perform the action that will get me beyond the place I’ve been led. I need to make sure I knock at the narrow gate, because if I knock at the wide gate, I’ll be on the road to destruction, which is not where God wants me to be.

Lord, please give me courage and confidence to heed direction from You to ask, seek, and knock.

May you be blessed,

Chaplain Wayne Ruckman