It might seem to you that God is silent. It might seem, even, that He turns you away. It might seem that He isn’t responding. But God will respond if you keep asking.
Jesus’s disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray and Jesus gave them this:
“When you pray, say:
“‘Father, hallowed be your name,
Luke 11:2-4
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
Those were the words that he gave them, what would amount to three verses within the Bible which covered five topics, which are:
- Worshiping God and His holiness
- Calling on God to bring His Kingdom here on the earth
- Asking for what we need on a daily basis
- Asking for forgiveness of our sins in the same way that we give forgiveness to others
- Asking God to keep us away from Satan and from his temptation
So these are the things that he taught us to say, but since the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, Jesus continued on further teaching them something just as important, so important that he used a story to illustrate.
Jesus told them of a man who didn’t have food to feed his guests, so the man went to his neighbor and friend’s house in the middle of the night to ask his friend for bread so that he could feed his guests. The friend initially turned the man away because he was already in bed, but the man kept asking. He kept calling out to his friend, and eventually his friend would wake up, get out of bed, and give him all that the man wanted because the man continued to ask.
Jesus used this example for his disciples saying that they should continue to ask God for the things that they want to see happen. He said that they should ask, seek, and knock…continuously…until you receive a response.
Jesus didn’t speak about what we should ask about, what we should seek, nor why we should knock because he had just addressed that issue in what he told his disciples they should pray. Are we not seeing God and His holiness worshiped? Call upon God to respond, and keep calling. Have we not yet seen God’s Kingdom come here on the earth, or His Lordship come into a particular situation? Keep seeking out God to intervene. Are you not receiving what you need to sustain you in that particular day, your daily bread? Knock on God’s door morning, noon, and night and He will give you the bread that you need.
Jesus told his disciples that God is a good Father. He will answer. He will give his children not just what they want, but good gifts. For example, He will give the Holy Spirit:
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Luke 11:13
Our Father in heaven wants to hear from us. He wants to see us live and move, and be about His business, depending on Him for what we need. He wishes to answer our prayers that align with His will. He wants to be our good Father. He wants us to walk with Him, and He wants us to continue to call upon Him to provide what is needed.