Just Ask.
I repeat these words on constant refrain at my house. Sometimes with exasperation and often with a forced smile, these words are a sort of code I use with my kids.
Stop whining and simply ask. Don’t complain for what you need, just ask.
As I remind my kids how to communicate their needs to me I can’t help but feel a divine tap on my shoulder. Tell me I’m not the only one who senses the voice of God lovingly turning the instructions I give to my children right back at me?
Jesus invites us to ask Him for what we need. Not only that, He invites us to “ask, seek, and knock” (Matt. 7). In other words, we’re to ask and keep on asking.
God loves it when we come to Him with and ask for help. He loves when we spill out our desires–both wants and needs matter to Him.
Human nature teaches us to go it alone–to work for what we need–to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps.
We don’t please God by trying to do this Christian life on our own. Heck no! Do you know what does please God?
Faith.
In fact, faith is the ONLY way to please God. “It is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Heb. 11:6 NLT).
So many days I have the wrong kind of faith. Faith in myself and my ability to hustle. If I’m honest that schoolgirl who loved to earn gold stars still comes out in me.
Human nature compels us to prove ourselves to God, but the Cross settles our worth and teaches us to rest in Jesus’ achievements on our behalf.
It takes humility to come to God and simply ask for what we need.
Children who know they’re loved have no trouble asking their parents for what they need.
Likewise, when we understand just how much God loves us–and how we’ve been reconciled in Christ–we won’t struggle to ask. Prayer will become a stream of consciousness, second nature to us like breathing.
Yes! After a while, prayer becomes a constant, ongoing conversation with God. Such a blessing to know that He is always with us! Thank you, Trisha, for this beautiful reminder and description of the kind of communion we are invited to share with our Savior through prayer! This is an incredibly uplifting and inspiring post! <3 and hugs!