I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. “So I say to you, 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 he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened..." (Luke 11:8-10)
So, I sort of had one of those "aha" moments tonight while praying and reading. I know this verse; many of us know this passage and how Jesus, in the original language, is saying to "keep on asking" "keep on seeking" and "keep on knocking". Of course our Glorious and Gracious God and Father knows our needs before we even know them ourselves. Of course He has promised to "add all these other things unto us" as we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matt 6) and of course He will clothe us like the lilies of the field and He will feed us like the birds of the air, but we have to ask...and not just ask, but keep on asking almost as if we are being - annoying?
I went in search of this verse tonight. I just wanted to read it in context and I am so glad I did, and so glad that I started in verse 1 so that I experienced verse 8. The man who came to his neighbor in the middle of the night for bread did not receive the bread because he was such a good friend of the man to whom he came, but because of his persistence. Dictionary.com says "persistent" is:
1. insisting, in spite of opposition, obstacles, discouragement, etc.;
2. lasting or enduring tenaciously
3. constantly repeated
So now, to my "aha" moment. My relationship with God is directly related to how I parent. Can I just tell you? I HATE when my children ask me for the same thing more than once - even if I know I am going to give it to them, it is good for them, I plan on doing it - "just ask me once and wait patiently for me to do it!!!" This is how I am with God. I ask once! And I wait. Perhaps I was told "no" a lot as a child and just learned to accept it. If God doesn't "answer" immediately, I take it as a "no" or a "not now" and I move on to something else.
What am I missing out on by not persistently asking my Father, who longs to give good gifts to me, His child, over and over and over again, according to His will, the things I need, want and long for? And, as a parent, what can I teach my children about perseverance and persistence in life by shutting them up so quickly and commandingly? Can I be teaching them about imploring God for their own desires, surrendered to His will, that they have by instead telling them to "ask me again later, now isn't the right time?", or something similar to that? I think I should try this.
Now, granted, there are times when the answer is "no" and children need to accept that graciously and move on, or the answer may be "yes, but wait", or "not now" and obedience should be practiced as well, but I am taking ti as a personal challenge to answer at least one of my children's requests tomorrow with, "that sounds like a great idea, but can you remind me in a couple minutes?" and see what that does for all of us.
Just a thought about God, our Father, and mothering...
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