Ask and you shall receive
Our conversations with God will to some extent be a reflection of our conversations with others, because we have learned what to expect and how to respond by experience. So perhaps the biggest influence on our expectations of God will have come from the interactions we had with parental authority figures. Maybe they were always available and endlessly patient, and maybe you sometimes found yourself thinking, ‘I’m waiting for a good time to ask..’
Take a few moments and think about how you were encouraged or discouraged from asking for something as you were growing up.
- Were there times that you felt were better to ask about something, or for something?
- Were there things you felt unable to ask for or ask about?
- What was the link between your behaviour and their likelihood to say yes?
Over the last few weeks we have seen that God continues to act graciously towards people, even in the worst of circumstances, and even in the midst of questionable behaviour. There is never a time when God’s goodness is not for us. And yet there may be times when we feel otherwise, moments when we find ourselves waiting for a good time to ask. Jesus gave this as an encouragement:
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.*
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 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! 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)
* There’s no asterisk symbol in ancient greek writing, but it’s hard to not expect one here. ‘Terms and conditions apply’, or ‘Individual results may vary’ should be sitting at the bottom of the page so that the outrageously good offer doesn’t lead to a lawsuit when the inevitable disappointment occurs. That’s the way our world works anyway. Overpromised and underdelivered. Jesus is suggesting that our conversations with God can be different.
Questions:
- Why is this insight into God’s inclination towards us good news, and why are we likely to wonder if it can be true all the time for everyone?
- Have there been times in your life when this was more difficult to believe?
- Jesus uses a contrast to make a point. If even an inconsistent parent will be inclined to meet the needs of their child, how much more will the consistently loving God be inclined to meet your needs. How does that help us rethink our relationship with God?
Jesus then links this invitation to ask, seek, and knock with a summary of scripture: So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. This is often referred to as the Golden Rule, and similar versions can be found in other religions and philosophies. We often think of it as a stand alone approach to living, but take some time to think about how this relates to the invitation to ‘Ask, seek, knock.’
Questions:
- How does this link to the golden rule help us understand the invitation to ‘ask, seek, and knock’?
- If we practice loving others as we would like to be loved, then what impact will that have on our experience of the love of God?
- How will that impact our likelihood to ask, seek, and knock?
- What might change about what we ask, seek and look to open?
Exercises for this week:
- Practice empathy. Try to take the other person’s perspective. Remember that our views always makes sense to us, so try to see how it makes sense from their point of view. Empathy is understanding and sharing the other person’s suffering from their perspective whereas sympathy is merely sorrow at someone’s suffering. Desmond Tutu says, ‘If you want peace, you don’t talk to your friends, you talk to your enemies’. Take some time this week to better understand some people you don’t agree with.
- Practice compassion. Empathy for people opens the way to love people. Take time this week to practice something that Jesus did. In a moment where a young man came to Jesus asking questions and not being happy with the answers, we are told that ‘Jesus looked at him and loved him’ (Mark 10:21). As we go about this week practice moments of compassion, look at people with empathy and find love for them.
- Practice active listening. Sometimes our listening is focused on the gap where we can insert our contribution to the conversation. Active listening means not only less talking and more listening, but also using our talking to demonstrate that we are hearing what the other person is saying. That common ground of hearing can lead to better understanding and finding common perspectives. Take time this week in your conversations to actively listen, it might start with ‘I’m hearing you say that …’.
May ask, seek, and knock be the pattern of how you do unto others what you would have them do to you…And may you find the love of God everywhere.