God Speaking

“So I say to you: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, he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened”

(Luke 11:9 – 10)

Why didn’t you ask me?

How many times have we said those words to a friend when we have discovered they have gone through some sort of trauma on their own without asking for help? We may have also been foolish enough to struggle through difficulties as well, being too proud to ask for help. Jesus was very anxious for all his loved ones to know that he is always there for the asking and repeats over and over again, his willingness to not only answer us when we call, but to step in and help us. We often seem to be under the impression that we can only bother him if the situation is really serious, not realising that he cares about every tiny detail in our lives.

I had a really good example of his caring this week, when one of the members of our Home Group phoned to say she would have to miss the meeting because she had lost her bus pass. She is an elderly lady and is dependent on buses to take her wherever she needs to go and therefore also relies on her yearly pass which enables her to travel. When she phoned we both agreed that we would call upon the Lord for his help, while we were praying the word, “jacket” came into my mind and when we finished praying, I told her to check the jacket she had been wearing the day before, she assured me she had already done so, but would check again, so I was delighted when the phone rang and sure enough wedged in the pocket was the ticket.

If the Lord cares about a lost bus pass, how foolish we are not to share with him every part of our lives, all our hopes, our worries, our desires to live a life worthy of him. How foolish not to ask him for his wisdom when we need to make decisions that affect our lives;

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)

When we join with other believers and agree to place our petitions before our Heavenly Father, Jesus promises to be right there with us.

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For when two or three come together in my name, there I am with them.” (Matthew 18:19 – 20)

So we should not hesitate to seek believers and have them pray with us for whatever is besetting us, believing whole heartedly in the promise of Jesus’ words, realising he is a true friend and wants us to share our daily walk with him and as a true friend cares about even the smallest of details in our lives.

Anxiety, stress, worries, drain us and robs us of the joy of following Jesus, when Peter is writing to believers he reminds them, and of course us, to accept the Lord’s beautiful offer and ask and receive whatever we need. We need to take Jesus at his word;

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)