A-sk, S-eek, and K-nock
“You do not
have because you do not ask God.” James 4:2
Over forty times in the New Testament
it says, "Ask". Forty times,
God says, "I want you to ask."
The Bible
says, "Ask and it shall be given unto
you." The Bible says, "You have not because you ask
not." Over and over again. He wants to give this to you. Why don't you ask?
One of the reasons why you don't see
more answers to prayer in your life is because you don't ask in the first
place. God wants us to come to Him and ask
and expect Him to answer.
Bruce Wilkinson shares the story of Peter waiting at the gates of heaven
to give a man a tour. Amid the splendor
of golden streets, beautiful mansions, and choirs of angels that Peter shows
him, Mr. Jones notices an odd-looking building.
He thinks it looks like an enormous warehouse- it has no windows and
only one door. But when he asks to see
inside, Peter hesitates, “You really don’t’ want to see what’s in there.” Why
would there be secrets in heaven? Jones wonders. What incredible surprise could be waiting
for me there? When the official tour is
over, he’s still wondering so he asks again to see the structure. Finally Peter relents. When the apostle opens the door, Jones
almost knocks him over in his haste to enter.
He finds out that the building is filled with row after row of shelves,
floor to ceiling, each stacked neatly with white boxes ties in red ribbon
Mr. Jones said, “These boxes all have
names on them,” then he asks, “Do I have
one?” Peter says, “Yes you do,” “but if I were you…” but before he could say any more, Mr. Jones
ran over to the aisle mark “J”. Peter
follows, shaking his head. He catches
up with Mr. Jones just as he is slipping the red ribbon off his box and popping
the lid. Looking inside, Jones has a
moment of instant recognition and he lets out a deep sign like the ones Peter
has heard so many times before. Because
there in Mr. Jones white box are all the blessings that God wanted to give him
while he was on earth…but Mr. Jones
never asked. We do the same.
God is waiting for you to ask.
Is it the salvation of a loved one? Ask! Is it a financial need that has been
challenging? Ask! Is it a healing in your body? Ask!
God never shuts His storehouses until you shut your mouth. He wants to help. But you don’t ever ask.
Last time that you needed a car did
you ask God for it or did you just go out and buy it? Last time you needed a dresser, did
you go out and put it on a credit card?
My guess is you probably didn’t ask.
You probably didn’t pray for it.
You just went out and bought it.
We need to learn to ask God.
Jesus said,
“Ask and it will be given you. Search
and you will find. Knock and the door
will open for you.” When you look at the
first three letters of those words-Ask, Seek,
Knock- it spells ASK. God is saying it three ways.
Why does He do it? Two
reasons: One, He loves you. And two, it's a great example to people who don't
believe in God. I'll tell you how I
prove that God exists. Answered prayer. I could give you hundreds, thousands -- in my
own life -- of examples. You can't say,
"It was a coincidence!" How
many times can you have a coincidence?
It takes more faith to believe in the law of averages being broken than
it does to believe in God. The fact is, God says, "I want to answer your
need." You never have to be
afraid. Go ahead, make God’s day!
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) In what area of your life are you most in
need right now?
2) Take time to ask for His help so that you
open the door for a miracle.
Copyright
2014- Terry Risser
Consider reading the Word today:
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