"I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
Luke 11:8-9
Importunity means to ask in an urgent and/or persistent way... sometimes to the point of annoyance. :) I think this is interesting. The parable of the unjust judge is similar, but this one is less well known. God says here and elsewhere, that EVERYone that asketh receiveth... promises every single person an answer. The trick is asking regularly and consistently... urgently and persistently. God's timing is different than our own, and our faith may be tested when we have to wait for our answers that aren't coming quickly... but they will come, God has promised that. Sometimes we get on our knees for 30 seconds and then wonder why God isn't listening to us, we figure we've tried, and then we go on assuming that God doesn't care. This is a faulty conclusion... he definitely always cares. A better guess might be that he is trying to expand our attention spans a little bit. :)
The other thing that seems to happen pretty often is when ask for an answer, and God gives us one we don't want. We then assume that wasn't really an answer and keep praying and begging for what we want when God has already told us no several times. Sometimes, in those cases, God will relent and give us what we want so that we can find out for ourselves it is not right. Usually then our lives go sideways. We need to be careful what we pray for, and not ask for things that will make us miserable. Adding "thy will be done" helps... as well as seriously being open to either answer. When our whole heart and mind is set on one answer sometimes we can't hear the other one. So, today... let's go and talk to God. Let's thank him for the amazing care he takes in watching over us... and remember to keep asking. Sometimes we learn more in the asking process than we do in receiving the answer.
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened."
Luke 11:8-9
Importunity means to ask in an urgent and/or persistent way... sometimes to the point of annoyance. :) I think this is interesting. The parable of the unjust judge is similar, but this one is less well known. God says here and elsewhere, that EVERYone that asketh receiveth... promises every single person an answer. The trick is asking regularly and consistently... urgently and persistently. God's timing is different than our own, and our faith may be tested when we have to wait for our answers that aren't coming quickly... but they will come, God has promised that. Sometimes we get on our knees for 30 seconds and then wonder why God isn't listening to us, we figure we've tried, and then we go on assuming that God doesn't care. This is a faulty conclusion... he definitely always cares. A better guess might be that he is trying to expand our attention spans a little bit. :)
The other thing that seems to happen pretty often is when ask for an answer, and God gives us one we don't want. We then assume that wasn't really an answer and keep praying and begging for what we want when God has already told us no several times. Sometimes, in those cases, God will relent and give us what we want so that we can find out for ourselves it is not right. Usually then our lives go sideways. We need to be careful what we pray for, and not ask for things that will make us miserable. Adding "thy will be done" helps... as well as seriously being open to either answer. When our whole heart and mind is set on one answer sometimes we can't hear the other one. So, today... let's go and talk to God. Let's thank him for the amazing care he takes in watching over us... and remember to keep asking. Sometimes we learn more in the asking process than we do in receiving the answer.
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