Ask, Search, Knock...

"...Ask , and it will be given you;

Search, and you will find;

Knock, and the door will be opened for you."

(Mt 7:7; Lk 11:9)

Do you honestly believe in these promises? Have you actually held in your own hands that which you prayed for?

So often you knock until your knuckles are sore and still the door does not open. You ask yourself, "Is God asleep or too busy to come to the door?" Has it ever dawned on you that perhaps you are knocking at the wrong house? Or that God does not live there? When your persistent banging is met by silence, do not persist . . . do not break down the door. Instead look around . . . Perhaps other doors have opened upon your knocking.

Knock and the door shall be opened unto to you. Yes, a door will open but it will not always be the one before which you stand. A door will open . . . a different door perhaps, but it will be that behind which God stands to welcome you with open arms.

Seek and you will find. Have you ever felt so silly trying to find God in your life . . . like a grown-up playing a child's game of hide and seek? When you search for God along the path of life you have chosen or others have chosen for you and do not find him, don't think he is playing hard to get. Maybe you don't find him simply because you are on the wrong road. When you get tired of looking for God on your present path . . . Stop. Climb up to higher ground and see where your road ends. If it only leads inland then abandon it and look for the path that will lead you to the eternal sea. Life is not about traveling on a beautiful, well-paved road. It's about finding the right path. The right path might be rugged and risky but you will be thankful for it because it will lead you to your destiny. Seek the right path and there you will find God. Perhaps, even before you find God, God will meet you along his path and find you.

Ask and you will receive. What have I more often received when I asked, nagged and begged God for something? Was it that which I asked for? When I pray and God does not grant what I want, perhaps he is offering what I really need. Sometimes, I ask God to help me hold on to something or someone but he does not give me the strength and the love to do so. Could it be that perhaps God wants to give me the gift of surrender and trust to let go because that is what I really need?

God, when I knock and the door before which I stand does not open, send me your Spirit to show me the house where you live. And I will gently knock on the door behind which you stand knowing that you will open it and welcome me with open arms.

Loving Father, when I lie exhausted along the path I walk, send me your Spirit to guide me and to show me the path you have chosen for me so that I can find you there. And when my asking is met with silence and my outstretched hand remains empty, send me your Spirit to teach me to distinguish what I really need from what I simply want.

Yes, I will knock, knowing that you will open YOUR DOOR. I will seek so long as you show me YOUR PATH. And I will ask only that which is YOUR GIFT.

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