For A Purpose

Dare to Ask

A thousand times I’ve been jealous and envious of someone else. Why does the person have more skill, more talent, more than what I seem to have?

But then I realize that nothing is achieved by being envious or by coveting or fighting for the things I do not possess. We know that the root of all evil is not money (of course) it is the greed for money. People quarrel and squabble, they fight and war and murder to get what they want or to have their way.

“You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” – James 4:2

Why not just ask? Many times I see others having more talent in music than I do, and I am a tad envious. It looks like I have to work much harder and they seem to already have the inbuilt “gift”. Haha. But I now realize my foolishness (although I still fall for it) and learn from God’s word that I should simply dare to ask God. After all, “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17) and “a man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” (John 3:27)

So I learn to make a point to ask God, placing my desires and plans in His hands. But then the inevitable question pops up, what if my prayers go unanswered? Maybe that’s because I’m praying the wrong prayers. I’m reminded that the Bible has promised God will “provide all my needs”. It did not include my wants or wishes. “You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” – James 4:3

I learn to dare to ask the right thing. And what is the right thing? That, I suppose, is the challenge and the excitement of asking God.