Matthew 7:7-11

James, the half brother of Jesus, said that we have not because we ask not. We need to ask before we can even expect to receive.

Some people have a hard time asking for help. I heard a quote the other day that said, “Closed mouths don’t get filled.” What is it that prevents us from asking for help? Pride. To ask means you need something, and that is hard for some to admit.

Yet here we have this promise: if we ask and keep on asking, we will receive. If we seek and keep on seeking, we will find. And if we knock and keep on knocking, the door will be opened. This tells me that not only must we be willing to ask, seek, and knock, but we also must not give up. Some of us are “one and done,” having not yet learned the art of perseverance.

The answer to our need is also found in knowing whom to ask. Some people are professional askers of others, but not of God. Why is that? Sometimes we look more to people than to God, yet we must remember that God is our Source. He often uses people to meet our needs, but we must make sure we are ultimately looking to Him for our provision. He is the One with an endless supply.

I am reminded of a time when someone called asking me to help with a business venture. I agreed and decided to help this person financially. Yet about six months later, I received another call regarding a different venture, and I felt a check in my spirit from the Lord about helping again. This person was looking to me as their source rather than to God, and I told them as much.

That was a difficult conversation, but I explained that if God was in this venture, He would provide through another means.

Our asking needs to be directed upward, giving God the discretion of how and through whom He provides. Then there is true thanksgiving and acknowledgment of Him for meeting the need. Otherwise, we may be inclined to think we provided for ourselves through our own efforts—often at the expense of someone else.