“And I tell you, ask and you will receive: seek and you will find.” // Luke 11:9
“Mom, can I ask you a question?”
I hear this question about a question on a daily basis.
It is part of my call as a mom to answer questions. I sometimes answer questions that they haven't even asked yet. But as the kids get older I am trying to be better about that. It is good for them to take time and formulate the right question. If I answer the question before it is asked, they never learn how to ask.
Too often in my adult life, I have not sought that which I should really be seeking. Or perhaps I was simply seeking it in the wrong places. Often my asking was actually making a demand, not placing a request and trusting the outcome to my Heavenly Father.
Today’s Gospel (see Luke 11:5-13) is hard for some of us to relate to because many of us have experienced unanswered prayers in our lives. People we prayed for didn’t receive healing, loved ones died even though we held firm in our faith to the end, periods of suffering seemed to go on and on when all we asked of the Lord was to bring an end to the struggle. Most of us can remember a request that went unanswered.
I have noticed with my littlest one that the phrase “Can I ask you a question?” is sometimes just an introduction to conversation. She wonders if I am available to talk, work things out, or problem-solve. It is less about the question and more about entering into a relationship.
Lord, can I ask You a question?
Of course, you can. “Ask and you will receive, seek and you will find” (Luke 11:9). This is a promise.
You may not get the answer you are looking for, you may not seek what you find or find what you expected, but if you enter into dialogue with the Lord, you enter into the situation with Him at your side. What do you desire to ask the Lord today? Enter into the dialogue today.
Dr. Mary Ruth Hackett is a writer, national speaker, and podcast host covering topics in psychology and faith. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and works at the important intersection of faith and developmental science, blending them in the original harmony God intended. Dr. Mary Ruth is the author of Daughter by Design: Discovering Your Identity as God's Beloved Daughter, and co-coauthor of Spiritual Discernment for Beginners: Learning to Hear God and Defeat the Lies of the Enemy. She is a contributing author to All She Had and our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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