Ask

"Ask the Savior to help you, comfort strengthen, and keep you; He is willing to aid you, He will carry you through."

In retrospect, I learned two things about my burgeoning relationship with Father God: To actually open my mouth and ask Him for whatever I wanted.  On my 70 mile roundtrip commute to work, I'd mused, "I ought to ask God for this-or-that."  My wish list, though long, never morphed from thought to action.  "I ought to ask God for...", but somehow I never made my "requests known to God," so that "the peace that passes understanding" never materialized.

I don't know when the bulb of enlightenment flickered and then stayed on, however dimly.  No. I can't remember the day or hour when I actually asked "God, please fix this Internal Revenue Service (IRS) mess I've gotten myself into."  I didn't shout it out, nor did I whisper.  Yet, He heard! He answered! The problem? Doubting Thomas(ina) that I was, I saw His answer as an anomaly, a once-in-a-lifetime-event.

So, I kept thinking about asking.  That's all.  Fast forward two decades.  I had decided to read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), book by book and chapter by chapter.  With little effort, I began Matthew 7, where I read  verses7-8 and stopped, flabbergasted.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened" (ESV).  

Really? Really! Nothing could be that simple, that easy.  No way, Jose! I read the verse again, parsing them like chopsticks in a bowl of noodles.  Brow furrowed, I read the verses again, then over again.  I sat there.  For how long, I don't know.  But no, I didn't yet believe or accept the premise of the promise, which brought me to the power of belief.  And Jesus said to him, "All things are possible for one who believes" (Mark 9:23).  

I had read pages and pages of Scripture.  Marveled at mighty exploits. Rooted when raids proved successful.  Cheered supernatural victories.  But,  Did I believe on the literal level? "All things are possible for one who believes!" Did I believe the Word? Truly believe? Deep within the crevices of my soul? Most significantly, did I believe the Spirit in me? Hmm.

Asking and trying to surmount unbelief required heavy-duty thought.  Searching. Questing.  Debating.  Wondering.  Praying still.  Now, the big difference now carries certainty.  I believe.  "My soul loves Jesus.  My soul loves Jesus.  My soul loves Jesus, bless His name. He's a Wonder to my soul.  He's a Wonder to my Soul.  He's a Wonder to my soul.  Bless His name."

To Be Continued...