"If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."
Matthew 7:11-12
Even those these verses are right after each other, I never really thought of them together before... they seemed like disparate ideas. Today though, I'm seeing the connection.
God is teaching us about gifts and generosity here. In Matthew 7:7 he tells us to ask, seek, and knock. Then he shows us that we already know how to give to people that we love... and if even we can manage that, then how much more will the Lord bless us if we ask him for a gift?
And then, God asks us to do the same for others... if we would like people to treat us generously and help us out, then we should be doing the same for them... giving, offering what we have generously, knowing that God will do the same for us.
We're warned not to ask for things we "ought not" (D&C 8:10), and to "ask not amiss" (2 Nephi 4:35)... sort of non-specific warnings, but James clarifies that we shouldn't ask for things that we are lusting after, but rather "submit yourselves therefore to God" (James 4:3-7), so I think in general we can say that we should always let God know that his will comes first, and work on ourselves to actually get there mentally and emotionally, because if we don't say that part sincerely, it isn't really submitting, and it doesn't really count. :)
I think it is important to say here that God's warning doesn't mean that small everyday things are off limits. I've heard admonitions about not praying for trivial things like car keys in the past... but we aren't wasting the Lord's time by asking for small things. We are told to look unto him in every thought (D&C 6:36), and he commands us to ask. I think his warnings are more about things we shouldn't have than about little things that don't matter so much, but which would make us happy. Back to the example of the children, we would get our kids a toy that made them smile... and God will do the same for us, as long as we are recognizing whatever it is as a small thing and not placing it above him or other essential things in our lives. The only warning here is the same one for all of life... we really are going to get what we seek after in this life and the next, so let's make sure that we are truly asking for what we want, and becoming who we want to be.
Today, let's ask, seek, and knock, looking to God for help with anything we need or want in life. Let's learn what the spirit feels like and specifically recognize answers to prayers, and as we desire God to be generous with us, let's be generous to each other. The entire gospel is wrapped up in the idea of giving, loving, serving... if we can open our hearts and treat others generously, then we'll be on God's path.
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