I heard a marriage counselor speak once about how easily we romanticize marriage by expecting our beloved to read our minds. He mused that perhaps during our courtship we could “finish each other’s sentences,” but most of the time, we need to learn to articulate what we want from our spouse and flat out ask for it.
If anyone should be able to read our minds, however, it would be God. Yet, Scripture makes it very clear that the Lord prefers us to take the initiative and express our requests.
Go back and take a look in the gospels at the people Jesus heals. A leper falls down before Him and says, “If you want to, you can cleanse me” (Luke 5:12). When the four men carrying their lame friend aren’t able to get in close enough because of the crowd, they remove part of the roof and lower him down on his stretcher (Mark 2:4). A Roman centurion runs up to Jesus in a panic over his sick slave (Matthew 8:5-6). Jairus, the synagogue leader, begs His help for his dying daughter, while an afflicted woman boldly reaches out to touch the Master’s robe (Luke 8:40-45).
These people all knew they needed healing and had the courage to stand up and ask for it.
Still, it isn’t a matter of telling God what to do. Making a request implies the possibility of being turned down. This willingness to risk refusal says a lot about the earnestness of our pleas.
Jesus counsels us, “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need” (Luke 11:10). Take that risk!
But God knows our needs better than we do. So why must we ask?
Formulating requests requires us to assess what we can and can’t do. Owning our need for the Lord is part of how we learn to work interdependently with the divine.
We get more out of help we’ve sought than anything we’re simply handed.
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