ASK Principle

I know not by what methods rare,

But this I know:  God answers prayer.

I know not if the blessing sought

Will come in just the guise I thought.

I leave my prayer to Him alone

Whose will is wiser than my own.

--Eliza M. Hickok

Do you ever catch yourself to shy or embarrassed to ask someone for something?  I know I do.  Sometimes Mark and I “argue” over asking someone a question or directions and you know that feeling you get when you start the conversation of “I’m not going to do that! Well, neither I am!” and then you just leap out of the car and just do it?  I guess it is the “fight or flight” syndrome that kicks in and saves the day!

Why is it that sometimes we don’t like to ask for things?  I am programmed to usually just do things without asking for help whether it’s house work, re-arranging furniture, cooking, etc…  I feel like when I ask for help it takes away a little of my control and then I don’t feel like I have done the task all by myself!  Sounds pretty selfish.

As I am trying to make myself a more positive person, I have had some great ideas in the books I have been reading lately! The latest one is the ASK principle:  “Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find.  Knock and the door will be opened to you.”  I have heard this principle all my life but rarely do I ever follow it completely!  In the society we live in today, we expect things to be done quickly and to be done right.  But God doesn’t always work that way.  I know I have prayed for things and some have come to pass and others have not and I am thankful for that. Asking things from the Lord is an act of faith that he encourages us to do.  In the stage of life I am in now I am asking God to move in my life to help me become a better follower of Him and to totally turn every area of my life over to him.  That’s a hard thing to do.  Remember my control story above?  Lord help me in this area!!

Seeking is all together different.  You can ask/pray to God all day long and if you don’t seek him, what’s the point.  Seeking is where I am at also.  The word seek has to do with desiring, endeavoring, or inquiring about something.  In order for me to become a better wife and mother, I have to be actively inquiring or seeking things.  That is why I have been reading the positive books and devotionals and blogging about them so much.  It’s worth the find!

Finally, knocking on God’s door.  Knocking is an action.  If you go to someone’s house and stand in front of the door and never knock (or ring the doorbell) how will they know you are there?  I think God feels that way sometimes.  We ask and seek but never fulfill the final step.  Taking action!  One man put it this way:  “if you want to get to the other side of the lake, you need to get in the boat and start paddling.”  It’s not good enough just to stand on the bank and admire the scenery and wish you could be on the other side.  You’ve got to do something.  If I want to become a better wife and mom, I can read every book known to man, but if I never make a change or put things into action, I will never succeed. 

God just wants us to ASK—and then we have to trust him for the answer!