Asking of God
Tom Stephens

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 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! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7: 7-12 (NIV)

During my faith journey, I have often struggled with knowing what I should ask God for. In my conversations (prayer) with God going back all the way to my childhood, I can remember asking for many things – some trivial, others of seeming importance at that particular time: finding something I had lost as a young boy, being All-City football in high school (no, I wasn’t), getting into the college of my choice, and, later, landing a job I wanted. In retrospect, of course, many of these requests didn’t matter that much in my life, and I know that I have been richly blessed throughout my life.

If I am honest with myself, I know that some of my asking has been selfish – testing God by asking Him to reveal Himself by giving me a sign, or asking Him to be a sort of Cosmic Butler to get me what I think I should have. And I believe we all suffer from trying to understand the will of God when confronted with the unfathomable question of how to interpret the tragic loss of a loved one from a terminal illness, even when we pray for that person’s recovery.

And I have come to realize that even some of my most outlandish prayer requests were answered, but in ways that I did not comprehend at the time and in ways that essentially made me part (but not center) of God’s larger scheme of things. 

In re-reading the verses from Matthew 7 from the Sermon on the Mount, I believe Jesus is telling us that God is interested in how we ask for things, not what we ask for. Are our prayers ego-driven, or our prayers for others and in spiritual alignment with God’s kingdom? Do we ask to be relieved of hurt and suffering or do we pray for strength and understanding in dealing with those painful and unpleasant things that touch our lives? St. Francis of Assisi captured the essence of Jesus’s words in his wonderful Peace Prayer”  

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.

I know I still have a long way to go in knowing how to ask God for things – not as a Cosmic Butler but as a companion and mentor in pushing and prodding and pulling me along my faith journey, so that I may better follow the example of the Prince of Peace.  

Prayer:
Heavenly Father, we ask for your direction in teaching us how to pray and how to ask for your help in our lives. Guide us in following your Son’s words and example so that our asking is done as one of your servant-people. Shepherd us as we deal with those things and events that touch our lives, that threaten to put us before You and before those around us who need our love and support.  We ask this prayer in Your Son’s name, Amen.