To ask, or not to ask... that is the question

"you will receive"

John 16:24

My Amazing Boy said something profound to me the other day.  He was making a joke, but he was also speaking truth.   It was a joke because he was quoting a Bible verse, but changing it slightly, so that his statement was the exact opposite of the Bible.  So in a way, he was contradicting the Bible.  But at the same time, he was exactly right.

Hang in there; I'll explain...

Seems Homeboy got himself a Snickers bar.  And in my heart, I wished to partake of said Snickers.  I know he would gladly have shared with me, but I decided not to ask.  Sometimes you just want to enjoy something without sharing, you know?  So I decided to let him have it all to himself. 

But then, when the time came for him to eat it, he came up to me and said, “Do you want some of my Snickers, Momma?”  I said I’d love it, and I thanked him for being so thoughtful.  And I got a knife and cut myself off a smidgen ~ I didn’t want to take advantage of his generosity.

And then as we ate, I told him how I’d wanted some, but decided not to ask for it.  And isn’t it ironic, that I got some anyway!  And he replied, “Do not ask, and you shall receive.”

We both laughed a little, because as you probably know, the actual verse is “Ask, and you shall receive.”  It’s in several places in Scripture and it's an important underscoring of the importance of prayer, and acknowledging that God is the giver of all things.

But even though it's true that God said, "Ask, and you shall receive" the reverse is also true.  God is so good, He gives us things we have not asked for ~ simply because He knows we need them, and because He loves us.

What do you have, that's so important to you, that you asked Him for it?  Health?  Your spouse?  Children?  And what do you have that's important to you, that you didn't ask for?  Your home?  Your career?  Your ministry?  Certainly, His death on the cross, for our sins, was not something any of us asked for, but something that we all needed.

I'm grateful, yet again, that He doesn't always give us what we ask for; and that He often gives us what we don't ask for.

~ "For God so loved the world,

that He gave His only begotten Son" ~

John 3:16