‘Tis the season for asking. It’s the time of year when
children of all ages compile their Christmas wish lists. Youngsters sidle up to
Santa eager to inform him of what they expect to find under the tree on
Christmas morning. Some ask nicely, others are more demanding.
I remember in the “olden days” (before the Internet and even
Toys ‘R Us) lustfully browsing through the thick Sears Christmas catalog,
enraptured by the vast array of toys presented just in time for the holiday
season. I’d make my selections and then advise my parents of what I wanted, in
essence asking them to fulfill my heart’s desire for Christmas.
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| Each year around this time, Santa Claus gets "asked" a lot. |
Every year many thousands of letters are written and sent to
Santa Claus at the North Pole, some in pen, some in pencil, and some even
scrawled in crayon. Sensitive, mature-beyond-their-years youngsters ask for
sensible things, like clothes, something nice for Mommy or Daddy, or even for
Mommy and Daddy to get along. But most of the time the requests are for stuff
ranging from dolls and Legos to the newest high-tech gizmos. “All I want for
Christmas is my…iPad”?
So is it wrong to ask? Not hardly. Even Jesus encouraged us
to do so: “Ask and it
will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened
to you” (Matthew 7:7). Asking
isn’t a bad thing. In fact, if we don’t ask, people often won’t have a clue
about what we want.
I’ve often found
this as a consumer. I’m not prone to complaining, but on rare instances when I
receive poor service I sometimes offer my comments to the appropriate retail
establishment. Not only to vent my displeasure, but also to alert the company
of unacceptable practices that might be affecting other customers as well.
Usually I receive appreciative responses.
Recently, after
reviewing a bank statement for our modest savings account, I noticed the
monthly interest rate had dropped substantially. I went to the institution and asked about the change. The bank officer
kindly informed me that at my request it could be increased, but I would have
to ask again in three months since the rate is not permanent. No problem. I’ll
just give myself a reminder and in about three months I’ll return to the bank
and ask them to renew the higher interest rate. It’s not a difficult thing to
do – and I make a few extra bucks in the process.
It amazes me that since we’re so good at asking for things
during the Christmas season, why we aren’t more proactive in asking at other
times of the year. We’d rather grumble and complain, feeling victimized and
mistreated. Maybe if we learned to ask more often, things would go better for
us.
This principle holds true spiritually as well. Philippians
4:6 suggests instead of fretting, we should learn to humbly ask God about our
needs and concerns. “Do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present
your requests to God.” In essence, God is saying, “It’s okay, you can ask
Me. I always like hearing from you.”
The apostle James affirmed much the same thing when he observed, “You do not have because you do
not ask” (James
4:2). Or, as another translation states it, "You have not because you ask not." We wrestle with many issues – health, finances, family strife, work,
tough decisions – yet we rarely bother to trustingly turn to God for the
solutions. So, the Scriptures tell us, since we don’t ask we don’t have what we
desire.
There is one prerequisite to our asking, however, as James proceeded
to explain. “You ask and
do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on
your pleasures” (James
4:3). When we ask, the Lord wants us to do so with the right motives, not out
of selfish intentions, greed, jealousy or pride. Are we seeking our own
gratification, or are our requests in line with God’s purposes and plans not
only for us, but also for those we encounter every day?
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