Good things come to those who ask

I know it sounds elementary but haven't you noticed that great solutions come in simple packages, with complicated-looking bow strings? I mean, the solutions we seek to life's daily challenges are usually easy to understand, it's the acceptance of that simplicity and its execution that we often have difficulty working out.

For instance, even though you only need to ask for what you need, that asking should not be handled in a nonchalant manner, as this is where we are likely to trip or fail.

There are different types of asking. We all know that different circumstances call for different strategies, so also different types of prayer unlock different solutions to your different needs.

A seasoned farmer knows that he cannot possibly go far using only a cutlass on his farmland in preparation for the planting season; such a tool would work for clearing overgrown grass but for planting seed, he would have to use a hoe or some other applicable, maybe mechanized tool, to achieve the desired soil environment and planting result. Similarly, different needs are answered through different types of asking, and one of my favourite fall-back scriptures on asking is found in Matthew 7:7;

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

I love this passage because every time I read it, I feel like my super wealthy father has indulged me yet again with a blank cheque! And honestly, I think that is what God is trying to tell us through His word… But this is meat, to be chewed on, another day, let us return to asking, seeking and knocking.

Notice how the passage does not stop at ask? After it advises you to ask, that's one type, it goes further to say seek, that's another type, then it says knock, yet another type of asking.

And while I'm not going to go into whether ask is a start level and knock is the highest level of asking, I know that nothing in God's word is redundant. The fact that in one situation I have to ask to receive, in another I have to seek to find or in another I have to knock for it to be opened tells me that I cannot use one approach to get replies to my needs or to resolve all the issues I face.

When I ask God for something and I don't see the immediate answer, based on whatever expectations I've set or pressures I face, there is the tendency to assume that God has probably said no or wait to my request. But it just might be that the answer to my request will only arrive if I go beyond asking for it, to seeking or knocking. Yet it starts with asking - answers to all requests begin with asking, asking creates room for you to receive.

And here's the really motivating part, verse 8 of the same chapter assures us that the person who asks, will surely get a response:

“For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Now this is not meant to be a theological higi-haga, just a personal piece from me to you, to prompt you to better understanding of your heavenly Father, and the dynamics of His abundant provision for us all. And if any of this makes you wonder where to start, you know what to do – ask Him for clarity and guidance, just ask!

Isabel Wrights is a simple woman who delights in God's love covering and desires to reflect this love relationship in her everyday life. Connect with her via