Daily Devotion, May 31, 2011

Luke 11:9-10
So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; those who seek find; and to those who knock, the door will be opened.

Jesus speaks these words to his disciples shortly after they have asked Him to teach them to pray. He gives to them the words that would become known as "The Lord's Prayer", and proceeds to tell them a parable about the perseverance of a friend asking another for loaves of bread in the middle of the night. Despite initial protests about the lateness of the hour, the man, at long last, gives in to his friend's request and the friend's dilemma is resolved.

What, then, does today's scripture say about how God answers us when we go to Him in prayer? For me, it means God is always listening, always available, ever present, when we seek Him. We may ask for what we think we want or need, but the answer we must listen for is what God intends for us. Not doing so is like knocking ceaselessly on a closed door, failing to see that the one next to it is flung open with welcome.

"For the Father above, He is listening with love, and He wants to answer us, so let us pray!" ~ Steven Curtis Chapman

Readings:
Deuteronomy 8:11-20
James 1:16-27
Luke 11:1-13