Ask

"Ask, and it shall be given you." – Luke 11:9

We dwell in a world that is profoundly broken. None deny it. Everyone feels it. Everything we touch bears the mark of imperfection. We hold things tightly, but they slip away. Nothing endures. There is beauty, but only in fragments. Health, but it declines. Strength, but it withers. Time, but it flees. Peace, but it’s troubled. Joy, but it’s mixed. Fruitfulness, but all too barren. Friendships, but they fade or are taken away. Comforts, but they vanish. Wealth, but it takes its wing.

Things that once stirred our hearts, grow dull and faded with time.

What, then, is the great characteristic of this world? We could say sin, and rightly so. But there is another word: incompleteness. Nothing here is whole. No hope without disappointment, no gain without loss, no joy without sorrow, no day without night. This is why we hear an unceasing murmur of discontent rising from every part of this world. Even we, who know better, have murmured along with it. And though mankind does not speak God's name, it is against Him that they complain. Why does He give such glimpses of goodness, only to leave such voids in our hearts? Why give tokens of blessing while withholding the fullness? Why scatter His evidence to bless, yet leave so much undone?

God Himself has given the answer: ask. "Ask, and it shall be given you." As if He were saying, "I have given you half; the other half remains with Me. You build a house, but one stone is missing—you search and do not find it. I have kept it with Me. You build a ship, but the rudder is absent—it’s with Me, that you might seek it. You open a book, but a chapter is torn away. Without it, the story is incomplete. I hold it in My hand, that you may know from whom all things come. I have given much, but I have withheld one thing, that you might know Me as the Giver and come to Me."

Yet, what does man do? He complains of what is missing rather than seeking the One who withholds it. He blames God rather than calls out Him. This only reveals that man must come to understand his own responsibility in his destitution.

"Ask, and it shall be given you." But let us ask aright. If you were asking a man for water, you would ask in a way that pleased him. How much more when we approach the Lord? Let Him prescribe how we shall ask. To ask in Christ’s name is to ask in Christ’s likeness. He is meek and lowly. So must we be.

And let’s ask for the most essential things first. If our house is burning, we do not ask for a new home. We ask for water to quench it. So it is with our souls. First, seek a humble heart, a broken spirit, a love for Christ, a thankful heart, a tenderness toward others. Seek the kingdom of God, and all else shall be added unto you.

Finally, ask with importunity. Ask in faith. Ask with expectation. The Father delights to give good gifts to His children. Ask, and it shall be given. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Amen.