Matthew 7:7-12 (Thursday's Gospel)
7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread,
10 or a snake when he asks for a fish?
11 If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.
12 "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets.
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Matthew gives us the Sermon on the Mount in chapters 5, 6, and 7. For my money, this is one of the best reads in all of the bible.
For years I'd heard verses 7 and 8 - ask and you shall receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened. It wasn't until relatively recently, however, that I'd thought much about what those words truly mean.
Really, this is a big question. How does one go about seeking something that is everywhere, yet invisible?
Over time, I've come to see seeking God as a combination of several things: studying Scripture, a deepening prayer life, participating in the Sacraments, and investing my time in our parish (i.e., the Body of Christ). If I had to pick one of these that is the most important, I would say prayer, because that truly leads to all of the rest.
This can be very easy to forget on a day-to-day level. For example, several months back I was frustrated because I couldn't get my arms around what it truly means to live a “Life in the Spirit." Finally, I PRAYED about it. I sought it out. I asked God to reveal it to me. I knocked on the door. And He answered.
That's the way it works. All faith comes from seeking. God won’t force us into his kingdom. He shows us little bits and pieces, and we decide if that’s what we want. Then we look up and ask for more, and he shows us more. This process lasts a lifetime.
Developing/increasing your faith and marching toward spiritual maturity doesn’t require great intellect, or some special gift only available to few. For years I had thought that was the case, and I was continually frustrated that I couldn’t unlock the answers to spiritual questions. What I've been able to see in the last year is that when I take those questions to God (i.e., seek Him), God usually reveals the answers to me.
If you don’t feel your faith is deep enough, ask God to help build your faith. If you’re looking for an answer to a difficult question, ask God to reveal the answer to you. If you are in a time of trouble, cast all your anxieties upon God, and just seek him. It really is that simple. Sure, the situations can be extremely difficult and the questions can be extremely tough, but remember – God can overcome all of that instantly. If we seek Him faithfully, we will NEVER be disappointed.
Showing posts with label - Ask / Seek / Knock. Show all posts
Showing posts with label - Ask / Seek / Knock. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Daily - 1/15/09
1 Samuel 3:1-11
1 During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli, a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent.
2 One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see.
3 The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was.
4 The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."
5 He ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me." "I did not call you," Eli said. "Go back to sleep." So he went back to sleep.
6 Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "You called me." But he answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."
7 At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
8 The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me." Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
9 So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
10 the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
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This is the bulk of the first reading for this coming Sunday.
We had a great discussion on this in the Wednesday night bible study. How does one discern God’s call? In the account above, Samuel was hearing something, but he couldn’t tell what it was. He needed to hear the call several times before God got through to him, and he needed the help of Eli to understand what was actually going on. There were eight of us at the study last night, and every single one of us could relate to this experience.
We got to chatting about how we as individuals discern God’s call. One thing that came clear is that it works differently for each of us. That makes complete sense, because discernment is very personal and varies with the individual. However, a few common thoughts emerged from the discussion:
- Prayer – to understand God's will, we need to ask Him what it is. This occurs through prayer, concentrating on God, and listening for his words.
- Obedience and submission – to discern what God’s will is for us on an individual level, it seems pretty important to first commit to what has been written about God’s will for all of us. If we can’t commit to that, we’re going to struggle to get any further down the road.
- Sacraments – concentrating on the Eucharist and Reconciliation brings you closer to God, and helps get you in the right frame of mind.
- Trust – we need to trust that God’s will is right for us. This typically happens through experience, over time. We don’t come out of the box trusting God. It’s something that is typically tried little by little, and over time we gain more and more confidence.
1 During the time young Samuel was minister to the LORD under Eli, a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision infrequent.
2 One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes had lately grown so weak that he could not see.
3 The lamp of God was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of the LORD where the ark of God was.
4 The LORD called to Samuel, who answered, "Here I am."
5 He ran to Eli and said, "Here I am. You called me." "I did not call you," Eli said. "Go back to sleep." So he went back to sleep.
6 Again the LORD called Samuel, who rose and went to Eli. "Here I am," he said. "You called me." But he answered, "I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep."
7 At that time Samuel was not familiar with the LORD, because the LORD had not revealed anything to him as yet.
8 The LORD called Samuel again, for the third time. Getting up and going to Eli, he said, "Here I am. You called me." Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
9 So he said to Samuel, "Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" When Samuel went to sleep in his place,
10 the LORD came and revealed his presence, calling out as before, "Samuel, Samuel!" Samuel answered, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
-----------------------------
This is the bulk of the first reading for this coming Sunday.
We had a great discussion on this in the Wednesday night bible study. How does one discern God’s call? In the account above, Samuel was hearing something, but he couldn’t tell what it was. He needed to hear the call several times before God got through to him, and he needed the help of Eli to understand what was actually going on. There were eight of us at the study last night, and every single one of us could relate to this experience.
We got to chatting about how we as individuals discern God’s call. One thing that came clear is that it works differently for each of us. That makes complete sense, because discernment is very personal and varies with the individual. However, a few common thoughts emerged from the discussion:
- Prayer – to understand God's will, we need to ask Him what it is. This occurs through prayer, concentrating on God, and listening for his words.
- Obedience and submission – to discern what God’s will is for us on an individual level, it seems pretty important to first commit to what has been written about God’s will for all of us. If we can’t commit to that, we’re going to struggle to get any further down the road.
- Sacraments – concentrating on the Eucharist and Reconciliation brings you closer to God, and helps get you in the right frame of mind.
- Trust – we need to trust that God’s will is right for us. This typically happens through experience, over time. We don’t come out of the box trusting God. It’s something that is typically tried little by little, and over time we gain more and more confidence.
Friday, December 26, 2008
Daily - 12/26/08
Ephesians 1:15-21
15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones,
16 do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.
18 May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones,
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might,
20 which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,
21 far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.
I’ve sent out this passage before. I love it because it gives a glimpse of what lies ahead for those who truly pursue spiritual maturity. I am at times a “studier” of the bible, and can get frustrated when I see descriptions of a spiritual life that I haven’t yet experienced. How do I get there? Paul gives the answer in this passage. He prays that the Ephesians receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation. For me personally, when there’s something that I study but can’t understand, I have taken to praying that God show me the answer. It is amazing how often this prayer gets answered. As it says in Matthew 7:
7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Look again at Ephesians 1:17 and see the description of private revelation that can occur for each of us. God gives a spirit of wisdom that results in knowledge of Him. Our hearts are enlightened, we begin to know the riches of glory, and we experience the surpassing greatness of his power. This is pretty heavy stuff that Paul is describing. It is a glimpse of what I call transcendent faith, and is the product of drawing ever closer to Christ.
15 Therefore, I, too, hearing of your faith in the Lord Jesus and of your love for all the holy ones,
16 do not cease giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers,
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation resulting in knowledge of him.
18 May the eyes of (your) hearts be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope that belongs to his call, what are the riches of glory in his inheritance among the holy ones,
19 and what is the surpassing greatness of his power for us who believe, in accord with the exercise of his great might,
20 which he worked in Christ, raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens,
21 far above every principality, authority, power, and dominion, and every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.
I’ve sent out this passage before. I love it because it gives a glimpse of what lies ahead for those who truly pursue spiritual maturity. I am at times a “studier” of the bible, and can get frustrated when I see descriptions of a spiritual life that I haven’t yet experienced. How do I get there? Paul gives the answer in this passage. He prays that the Ephesians receive a spirit of wisdom and revelation. For me personally, when there’s something that I study but can’t understand, I have taken to praying that God show me the answer. It is amazing how often this prayer gets answered. As it says in Matthew 7:
7 Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Look again at Ephesians 1:17 and see the description of private revelation that can occur for each of us. God gives a spirit of wisdom that results in knowledge of Him. Our hearts are enlightened, we begin to know the riches of glory, and we experience the surpassing greatness of his power. This is pretty heavy stuff that Paul is describing. It is a glimpse of what I call transcendent faith, and is the product of drawing ever closer to Christ.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Daily - 9/16/08
Ephesians 5:8-14
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light,
9 for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.
10 Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
11 Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them,
12 for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret;
13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."
We are called to live in the light, and to try and learn what is pleasing to the Lord. How do we know what is pleasing? Really there are two easy answers. First – search the Word and you will find plenty of descriptions of what God does and does not want us to do. At times I’ve found the lists of “don’ts” depressing, but eventually I learned that taking the first steps of obedience really requires focusing on the “don’ts” than the “do’s”. Before we truly commit to Christ we live as the World lives. But we are told not to do that, to not take part in the fruitless works of darkness. These are the first steps of obedience, to recognize things are not doing to God and stop doing them (aka, putting sin to death).
What else can we do? Prayer. One of the best ways to learn what is pleasing to the Lord is to ASK HIM to tell you what is pleasing to Him. Ask God to reveal to you what he wants you to do, or what he wants you to stop doing. Then … pay attention to the answer and try and put it into practice. I have found that the more often I put such questions to God, the easier things become for me.
If we do these things, in time we move further into the light, and in turn our light shines for others to see.
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light,
9 for light produces every kind of goodness and righteousness and truth.
10 Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
11 Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them,
12 for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret;
13 but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
14 for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light."
We are called to live in the light, and to try and learn what is pleasing to the Lord. How do we know what is pleasing? Really there are two easy answers. First – search the Word and you will find plenty of descriptions of what God does and does not want us to do. At times I’ve found the lists of “don’ts” depressing, but eventually I learned that taking the first steps of obedience really requires focusing on the “don’ts” than the “do’s”. Before we truly commit to Christ we live as the World lives. But we are told not to do that, to not take part in the fruitless works of darkness. These are the first steps of obedience, to recognize things are not doing to God and stop doing them (aka, putting sin to death).
What else can we do? Prayer. One of the best ways to learn what is pleasing to the Lord is to ASK HIM to tell you what is pleasing to Him. Ask God to reveal to you what he wants you to do, or what he wants you to stop doing. Then … pay attention to the answer and try and put it into practice. I have found that the more often I put such questions to God, the easier things become for me.
If we do these things, in time we move further into the light, and in turn our light shines for others to see.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Daily - 7/15/08
Hebrews 5:11-14
11 About this we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, for you have become sluggish in hearing.
12 Although you should be teachers by this time, you need to have someone teach you again the basic elements of the utterances of God. You need milk, (and) not solid food.
13 Everyone who lives on milk lacks experience of the word of righteousness, for he is a child.
14 But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties are trained by practice to discern good and evil.
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Here’s more on the idea of spiritual maturity. In this passage it is clear that it takes an effort of will to achieve spiritual growth. It is easy to "become sluggish in hearing" and mediocre in our faith. I know I’ve done that from time to time. It’s crazy that I can forget how joyful spiritual growth is, but sometimes I do, and let the world close in on my thinking too much.
We have to commit to growth, to actively seek it out through prayer, study of scripture, and the sacraments. We have to actively seek "experience in the word of righteousness" – it’s not going to happen on it’s own, and God is not going to force it on us. Note that solid food is "for those whose faculties are trained by practice to discern good and evil." We have to seek righteousness, rather than wait for it to find us. That’s a big difference.
11 About this we have much to say, and it is difficult to explain, for you have become sluggish in hearing.
12 Although you should be teachers by this time, you need to have someone teach you again the basic elements of the utterances of God. You need milk, (and) not solid food.
13 Everyone who lives on milk lacks experience of the word of righteousness, for he is a child.
14 But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties are trained by practice to discern good and evil.
-------------------
Here’s more on the idea of spiritual maturity. In this passage it is clear that it takes an effort of will to achieve spiritual growth. It is easy to "become sluggish in hearing" and mediocre in our faith. I know I’ve done that from time to time. It’s crazy that I can forget how joyful spiritual growth is, but sometimes I do, and let the world close in on my thinking too much.
We have to commit to growth, to actively seek it out through prayer, study of scripture, and the sacraments. We have to actively seek "experience in the word of righteousness" – it’s not going to happen on it’s own, and God is not going to force it on us. Note that solid food is "for those whose faculties are trained by practice to discern good and evil." We have to seek righteousness, rather than wait for it to find us. That’s a big difference.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Daily - 5/29/08
Matthew 11:27
27 “All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
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This is one of my favorite passages. I find verse 27 very compelling – “nobody knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” This has been very important for me to remember over time, especially as I’ve prayed for grace to come to certain people. Christ is the bridge from God to Man. Revelation happens on an individual basis, and it happens according to God’s plan and schedule and in response to Man’s seeking. At times we are used by God to play a role in someone else’s spiritual development, but remember that we are just being used. God is doing the work, not us. If as individuals we push too hard, we may move out of God’s will and into our own, and the person might be turned off.
27 “All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
-------------------
This is one of my favorite passages. I find verse 27 very compelling – “nobody knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” This has been very important for me to remember over time, especially as I’ve prayed for grace to come to certain people. Christ is the bridge from God to Man. Revelation happens on an individual basis, and it happens according to God’s plan and schedule and in response to Man’s seeking. At times we are used by God to play a role in someone else’s spiritual development, but remember that we are just being used. God is doing the work, not us. If as individuals we push too hard, we may move out of God’s will and into our own, and the person might be turned off.
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