Check back each Monday for a short devotional to help you start the week off well.
And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. (Luke 11: 9-10)
How many times have we found ourselves believing that God has ignored our prayers? It can be tempting to believe when we don’t have an immediate answer. In the passage for today, Jesus gives us a rich promise that begs the question, “Did God ignore our prayers, or did we give up too soon?”
What three things does Jesus tell us to do?
What does He promise will happen in each case?
The verbs in theses verses are written in the Present Perfect tense, which means they happen now and then continue to happen into the future. So they are better translated as, “Ask (and keep on asking)—-seek (and keep on seeking)—-knock (and keep on knocking).
It is said that prayer frequently changes things, but it always changes US! Jesus is NOT promising that if we ask that same thing for a long time that he will give in like a weary parent does with an insistent child. He is saying that if keep coming to our Heavenly Father, we will discover his perfect will for our lives. We are being invited to come routinely to talk to our Lord about what weights heaviest on our hearts and minds.
What weighs the heaviest on your heart and mind right now? Have you given up on God, or are you willing to trust his promises? He is inviting you to come into his presence for as long as you need or want, assuring you that you cannot outstay your welcome!
Lord of Hosts, I confess that I do not always come to you as I should, and I often leave sooner than I should. Thank you for inviting me back. I have much to talk to you about. Amen.
