Monday, March 18, 2013

Unspoken Requests

8:00pm on a school night - "Mom, can I...? Never mind..."

Do you have a kid like this? She starts asking me questions ALL the time. Pauses. And refuses to ask. Why? She already knows my answer. Or so she thinks. I like to surprise her every now and then.

"Ask your question, sweetie."
"You'll just say 'No'."
"You don't know my answer until you ask."
"Can I have some ice cream?"
"Yes, you may have ice cream, but just 1 scoop. Was that so hard?"

It struck me today that I have been reluctant to ask God for things that are on my heart. I already know His answer. Or so I think I know. It's almost unbearable to fathom hearing the confirmation that I have in my heart - He does't want to give me what I desire right now and so I sit in silence.

Then God gently says to me -

"Ask your question, sweetie."
"You'll just say 'No'."

"You don't know my answer until you ask."

James 4:2b (The Voice)
You do not have because you have chosen not to ask.

John 16:21-24 (The Voice)

In the same way that a woman labors in great pain during childbirth only to forget the intensity of the pain when she holds her child, when I return, your labored grief will also change into a joy that cannot be stolen. When all this transpires, you will finally have the answers you have been seeking. I tell you the truth, anything you ask of the Father in My name, He will give to you. Until this moment, you have not sought after anything in My name. Ask and you will receive so that you will be filled with joy.