ASK!

There was a blind man who sat by the roadside begging for handouts to help survive.  He had evidently heard about Jesus and the miracles that He had performed for others, and this blind beggar’s heart began to believe that anything was possible.  Then, one day, hearing a commotion, he asked what it meant, and they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by.  He raised his voice above the crowd saying, “Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.”  The folks that were close to him tried to quiet him down, but he cried all the louder until Jesus heard him and had this beggar brought before Him.  Jesus’ question to the blind man was simple, but very powerful.  He said, “What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?”  The blind man knew exactly what it was that he wanted of the Lord: his sight, and that’s just what he asked for.  Jesus said, “Receive thy sight: thy faith hath saved thee.” (Luke 18:35-42).

Faith is the thing that sets us apart.  It’s the thing that causes the Lord to stop in His tracks and call us out of the crowd.  It’s the one thing necessary for salvation from the beginning of our walk to the end.  Without it, we can’t receive anything from the Lord, nor can we please Him.  So, when we come before Him, and He asks what we want Him to do for us, He’s really asking what we’re prepared to believe.  If we ask God for forgiveness, are we ready to believe that our sin is erased?  If we ask Him for power over sin, are we prepared to believe that He will keep and empower us?  When we pray for others, can we trust that God is going to move in their lives? 

There was another man of whom Jesus asked a simple question.  This man had had an infirmity for 38 years.  Jesus asked him, “Wilt thou be made whole?”  You or I would think that the obvious answer would be a resounding, “YES,” but this man made an excuse instead for why he couldn’t be healed (John 5:6, 7).  We, too, are often full of excuses for why God can’t do something for us.  We have not because we ask not.  In Jeremiah 32:27, God says, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for Me?”   We should instead be like the blind beggar: completely aware of our need of the Lord, but even more importantly, fully aware that He is able to supply what we ask. 

Psalm 37 reminds us that it is when we delight ourselves in the Lord that He is able to give us the desires of our hearts.  If our delight is in pleasing and honoring the Lord, then our desires are also going to honor and please Him.  If we delight in earthly things and selfish gains, then our requests are not going to please Him at all. 

We are called to live a life that glorifies God and reflects the love of Christ.  We can only do this by trusting and believing in all that He has said that He would do for us.  We mustn’t make excuses for why we can’t change, or can’t overcome, or can’t be forgiven.  We must in faith approach the throne of grace and make our requests known to the One Who can make a difference.  It’s there that we will obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (Matthew 7:7, 8).