“ And He said to them, “suppose one of you has a friend, and
you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend lend me three loaves of
bread; for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’
And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me, the door has already been locked,
and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you even though he will not get up and
give him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his persistence
he will get up and give him whatever he needs.
So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will
find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.”- Luke 11:5-9
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| picture via Our Journey With God |
These are some of the verses that Mary and I meditated on
today in discipleship. Mary is teaching
me different ways to pray with the scripture in order to strengthen my prayer
life. She asked me to listen to her read this passage a few times, to listen
for words that stuck out to me, and then pray about why they did and what I
should do about it.
Today, what really stuck out to me was the word ask.
I realized that each time she read through that passage I just kept
hearing the word ask. So, what do I think it means? Well, let me tell you. It means I should ask.
I know what you are thinking, “REALLY?” Yes, really.
When I was meditating on these verses I realized that most of the time I
don’t ask God for what I really need.
When I do ask God for things, I ask for things. God is not Santa
Clause. So often when I pray to ask something of God, I only ask him for
superficial things I want; I skip over the real, deep, heavy, pressing issues
that I need help with.
That really bothered me.
I knew that I didn't want to treat prayer like a wish list, I wanted to
treat it like a real relationship (what it is meant to be). So, why?
Why did I always skip the stuff that I really needed to ask for? I think I figured that one out too.
Reason #1
If I ask for God to help me with a problem, I have to admit
I have a problem.
Have you ever noticed how much we all love to pretend that
we are perfect? Like we have it all
together? Well, we aren't and we don’t. It can be really challenging to admit even to
yourself that you have deep problems that need help. But, that is what God wants us to do, he
wants us to ask.
Reason #2
I think I can fix it on my own.
No, I can’t. Here is
the deal, we are broken people that make big messes in our lives. Why, then, do we think that we can clean up
the big messes in our lives? Why can’t
we see that our trying to “do it ourselves” is what brings about the problems
we face in the first place. Lean on God,
ask for his help. (He really does want to help us)
Reason #3
God knows everything, he knows what I need help with, I don’t
have to ask.
Yes, God does know our struggles but he doesn't want to
force his way into our lives. He wants
us to have a relationship with him. He
wants us to invite him to be a part of our lives and to help us. He wants us to acknowledge to Him and to
ourselves that we need His help. He
wants us to ask.
I have decided that I need to become more vulnerable with God. I need to truly open up my heart to him (all
of it). I need to invite Him to come and
take over this mess I have made. I need
to admit I can’t go on without his help.
He will help me, and all I
have to do is ask.
What stands out to you in that passage? Have you noticed I am really feeling the italics today? What do you need to ask God for in your life? Do you hold back the way I do? For the same reasons, or different reasons? Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Drop me a line in the comments below!
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