Someone may say, “Is it difficult to ask?”   Another person may say, “Do you dare to ask?”  Still another person would say, “What good is there in asking him of that request?”  It depends upon whom you are asking from.  If the person is an unreasonable person, do you think he will grant you your request?  Of course, not!  If the person is a generous person, you would not hesitate to ask anything from him.  You know that he would grant you your request freely.  The trustworthiness of a person gives you the unction or the urge or even the eagerness to ask.  If I do not know the person well, I would refrain from asking anything from that person.  If I know that the person whom I ask would turn down my request, I would not even dare to ask anything from him.  If I know the character or personality of a person, I would know whether I should ask him for anything or any matter or not.

Our God is different.  He is faithful, generous, kind and trustworthy.  God can be trusted because what He says He will do.  He has given us many rich promises in the Bible, His precious Word.  He wants us to know Him and love Him.  He wants us to ask anything from Him.  He wants us to come to Him with our requests.  He wants us to come to him freely and spontaneously.  He wants to give us what is best for us and for our future, for our family and for His church.  The comforting truth is that God knows what you need before you ask Him (see Matthew 6: 8b).  We do not have to repeat our requests to God many times thinking that He has not heard them.  When you come to God with your request, He has heard them and He will respond to your request.  Sometimes, He will respond immediately but sometimes, He will let you wait and will delay in responding to your request.  That does not mean that God does not care about you and your requests.  God cares for you and loves you more than what you think.

I recall a verse in the book of James, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”  If you are undergoing trials in your life, you need God’s wisdom and God’s strength to go through them.  This verse teaches us that we should come to God, asking Him to give us wisdom to handle the trials which we are facing.  God is a generous God and He will grant you your request for wisdom.  Personally, in many situations in my life, I have asked God to give me wisdom and He has granted me my request for wisdom.  I need wisdom in speech, wisdom in service and wisdom in sharing the Gospel of Love with non-believers and wisdom in teaching God’s truth to His people.  I need wisdom in relating with people and wisdom in responding to people.  I know that my God will bless me with His wisdom when I dare to ask Him for it.

If you think that God will not give you what you have asked of Him, then you will not be spontaneous in asking Him for anything which you need.  If you often come to God and saying like this to Him, “If it is within Your will, then grant me my requests”, what would God think of your requests?  God would say to you, “Don’t you know Me?  Will I always reject your requests?”  Knowing God enables us to have the right attitude of asking.  Knowing God helps us to know what to ask of Him for our needs.  If every time in every request you tell God in this manner, “If it is Your will, then grant me this request”, then it implies to God that you do not really know Him and that you are not confident that He will give you your request.

Let us develop the boldness in our asking.  Let us develop the confidence in our asking.  Let us develop the determination in our asking too.  God is gracious and loving.  He will teach us His ways and His thoughts concerning the attitude of asking.  As we get to know Him more, we learn to know how to ask of Him, what to ask of Him and when to ask of Him.  We will be more bold in our asking and more confident in our asking too when we develop that deep relationship with Him.  I dare to ask God for the salvations of others because I know my God loves them and longs for them to turn their hearts to Him.  I dare to ask God to change what I could not change because I know that my God is able to work beyond my imaginations.  I count on God all the time because He is my Provider, my Redeemer and my Sustainer.  My asking is never too much for my God to answer.  I have always experienced that our God is a prayer-hearing God and a prayer-answering God.  I love the book of Psalms.  In Psalm 66: 20, God encourages me in this, “Blessed be God, because He has not rejected my prayer or removed His steadfast love from me!”  My confidence is in God for He has not forsaken me but He has forgiven me and has given me that great access to Him through His beloved Son, Jesus Christ.  My determination is rested on God’s faithfulness and on God’s goodness.  My enthusiasm is drawn from my intimate relationship with Him.  I have found it a joy and a privilege to ask anything of my Heavenly Father for He alone knows my needs and my desires.  I want to praise God for He is faithful and good.

An attitude of asking – May God helps us to have an attitude of asking: asking boldly, asking confidently and asking with determination.  Knowing God enriches your attitude of asking.  May God help us to know Him more so that we can ask Him more and believe Him more!  Amen.