Ask and it shall be given unto you...

I thought I understood this verse....but recently it has taken on a new added meaning.

Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you:

The verse is rather straightforward, or so I thought until recently when I realized that it's actually not that easy to ask. To ask actually involves quite a bit. That's the lesson I got from bringing up my kids....I always tell my friends that I find parenting a very humbling experience. 8(

I am always amused by how readily my 7-year-old will ask for help, pocket money, etc, etc. Similarly, she's also very free with her appreciations and thank you(s). My teenager is on the other end. He used not to be like that. It's not that he doesn't ask but it's just it seems to take more effort now that he is older. These ruminating stages are very complicated! And they've been times when he'd rather not ask.... for various reasons best known to him and to us also sometimes.

To ask a favour or something from someone means you are comfortable with the person . Sometimes it may mean that you share your vulnerability with the person you are asking. It also takes humility to ask cos when we ask for help, we're telling the other person that we need help. It is also an admission of dependency on the other person. When you ask it also means putting aside your pride.... actually asking can be a rather humbling experience too!

But the thing is....just like God said...ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened unto you. Our inheritance, blessings....they're all there already. But we must have the wisdom to know when to ask and how and when to claim it. His promises are there already for us. If only we have the humility and wisdom to see that! My kid very often doesn't see that...and that became my lesson last week.