Luke 11:1-12
In this passage of Scripture, Jesus takes some time to teach
His disciples how to pray because they asked Him. He teaches them how to pray
and tells them a story about a man who was so persistent in asking his neighbor
for help in the middle of the night that his neighbor finally got out of bed
and helped him. Jesus then encourages His disciples to ask, seek and knock…promising
that they would then receive, find and be opened to: “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the
one who knocks it will be opened.” Luke 11:10 (ESV)
Jesus doesn’t just stop there – He challenges His disciples
even further by comparing imperfect, earthly fathers who know how to give good
gifts to their children, to God who is a perfect Heavenly Father – How much
more does God know how to give good gifts to His children?
If I’m being honest, I worry a lot and ask very little. I
worry a lot and seek very little. I worry and allow myself to become so
paralyzed with fear that I might stand at the door but never knock. Jesus is
clear – worrying robs me of life and peace. It is fruitless and accomplishes
nothing…BUT coming to my perfect Heavenly Father and asking Him for what I
need, seeking Him, and knocking at His door – trusting that He will not only
answer me and let me in, but that He knows how to give me exactly what I need –
that is much more life-giving.
What keeps me from
asking the Lord for what I need…or even for what I want?
1.
Pride:
it’s hard to admit my needs and surrender control. It’s hard to admit that I am
limited. It’s hard for me to depend completely on the Lord to show up.
2.
Fear:
what if God doesn’t answer? What if I’m really vulnerable and He isn’t safe
with my heart? What if I’m brave enough to ask but He doesn’t come through?
3.
Complacency:
This goes along with pride, but often I’m so comfortable that I don’t even
think to ask for things! I settle and focus on what “my resources” can provide
or how I can meet my own needs.
These are just a few reasons for me, but all of them are
rooted in lies. I do need God. I am limited. I am not in control. “My resources”
are not mine –all that I am and have is His. God is always a safe place. He
knows everything about me and yet He loves me perfectly still. I don’t have to
fear rejection like Satan would like for me to believe. God loves me and
invites me to come to Him. He delights in meeting my needs. He delights in
giving me the desires of my heart.
The Bible says to “Delight
yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm
37:4 – I don’t think this means “delight yourself in the Lord SO THAT He
will give you what you want..” I think it means that as we delight ourselves in
the Lord, our hearts become more like His heart and our desires more like His
desires… they line up with His will. Psalm
34:10 says, “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord
lack no good thing.” And Paul reminds us in Philippians 3:19 that “…God will supply every need of yours
according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Now if we’re not careful, we can start to see God like we
see Santa Clause. That’s not who God is. We don’t just get to bang on heaven’s
door repeatedly, ask for a super nice car just because we feel entitled to one,
and then question His faithfulness when we don’t get what we want. Equally so,
we don’t get to think “If I’m a really good person, God will give me XYZ….” God’s faithfulness in meeting our needs is
not dependent upon our performance and legalism, but on His faithfulness, grace
and character. He rewards our obedience, yes! However, obedience should
always come from an overflow of love and thankfulness, acknowledging that God’s
ways are best even when we don’t feel like they are, and not out of impure
motives to manipulate God’s hand.
Is it wrong to ask for a nice car or nice things? I don’t
think so. Is it wrong to have nice things or expensive things? Not at all. I
think the more important question is why we want those things – is it to make
much of ourselves or to make much of God? I also think it’s important to
remember that in God’s kingdom – we are not owners but stewards – so all we
have is His. The minute we start to
think we are owners entitled to things, we lose sight of the Gospel. Sometimes
God withholds things from us that we consider “good” because He knows us better
than we do. He knows that that really nice car or fancy new house may get to
our heads and cause us to stumble in pride. A guy named Agur prayed something
like this in Proverbs 30 that I’ve always thought wise:
“And
then he prayed, ‘God, I’m asking for two things before I die; don’t refuse me –
Banish lies from my lips and liars from my presence. Give me enough food to
live on, neither too much nor too little. If I’m too full, I might get
independent, saying, ‘God? Who needs him?’ If I’m poor, I might steal and
dishonor the name of my God.”- Proverbs 30:7-9 MSG
Jesus invites me to ask, to seek and to knock – He puts no
limits on what I can ask for, seek for or knock for – and He promises that I
will receive, find, and be invited in with an open door. So I need to ask, to
seek, and to knock more – trusting that God’s heart towards me is one of a
perfect Father towards His beloved daughter. Trusting that He will supply every
need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus, that I will lack no good
thing, and that He is faithful even when His answers look different than how I
thought they would look, because God sees the end from the beginning and He
alone knows how to give me good gifts in His perfect timing and season.
My hope for you is
that you always know God’s heart towards you as His beloved son. Your dad and I
will let you down – we’re nowhere close to perfect – but God never fails you. He
is always faithful.
We love you. Come soon.
-mom
