Day 33 – Simply Ask
Brother Lawrence discusses the simplicity of asking God for what we need. “We need only to recognize him present within us, to speak with him at every moment, and to ask for his help, so that we will know his will in perplexing events, and will be able to carry out those things we clearly see he asks of us, offering them to him before doing them, and thanking him afterward for completing them.”
Part of a relationship is learning to ask. Just as a child asks a parent, a student asks a teacher, or an employee asks an employer, you learn to ask God for what you need and for what he wants.
In cultivating your relationship with God, you remind yourself that Jesus himself is with you, day after day after day (Matthew 28:20).
As you live in his presence, like the apostle John at the Last Supper, you “lean back against Jesus” and simply ask what is on your heart (John 13:25).
Jesus teaches us plainly: “Ask and it will be given to you. . . . For everyone who asks receives” (Matthew 7:7-8).
As in the Lord’s Prayer, we don’t ask God for getting our will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done on earth (Matthew 6:10). We ask for things we know God wants, and we ask for what we know God wants us to do.
We learn to ask God and invite him into our daily lives.
“God, I can’t do what I need to do and what you want me to do. I need your help. Show me how. Teach me what I need to know. Give me the energy, insight, creativity, and ability I need.”
Like Mary “who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said,” we learn to listen to what Jesus says who also gives us the power to do what he wants (Luke 10:39).
As we learn to ask for and receive the little stuff, our faith grows to ask for and receive the big stuff. Nothing is too small or too big for God. He only waits for us to ask.
You also thank God for the answer, or the answer that is on the way, or the way he answers. “Tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers” (Philippians 4:6, TLB).
Brother Lawrence reminds us in cultivating a continuous conversation with God, simply ask.
Action Step: Ask God for what you need. Yes, that!
This is God’s Word for you today,
Pastor Dave
