A friend recently told me about an issue she has with one of her employees. Apparently, this woman, who we’ll call Jane, is a very intelligent, capable employee with lots of potential for advancement within the company. In fact, my friend has considered offering Jane a promotion several times. So what’s the problem? Jane has never asked my friend for more responsibility. If she’s interested in a promotion, she sure hasn’t let anyone know. My friend feels that if Jane hasn’t at least taken the initiative to come to her and ask about the possibility of a promotion, then she must nor really want one.
We all struggle from “request anxiety” from time to time, don’t we? Jesus knows that we do, especially when it comes to our prayer lives. He reminds us in the Gospels that it really is OK to present our requests to God…He tells us, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”
The key phrase here is Keep On…God values persistence in our prayers, we see that time and time again in the Bible. Think of the woman who had suffered a hemorrhage for 12 years before she was healed by Jesus. Sarah was 90 years old before her prayers a child were answered. In Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the persistent widow whose request is answered by a corrupt judge only because she keeps bothering him with her pleas. Jesus ends the parable by saying, "Will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?”
What are you seeking today? Go ahead and boldly present your requests to God, you have the Authority of Jesus to come before His throne. You have the assurance that within God’s timing and will, what you ask for will be given, what you seek will be found and the door that you knock upon will be opened.
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