"Ask, and the gift is yours.." Matthew 7:7-8 (TPT)

Here in this above passage, Jesus is putting everything all out there for us to receive. Every promise of God and anything we could ever need is placed within our grasp; it is ours for the asking. 

Jesus gives us another example of this but with more detail in the book of Luke:

Then Jesus gave this illustration: “Imagine what would happen if you were to go to one of your friends in the middle of the night and pound on his door and shout, ‘Please! Do you have some food you can spare? A friend just arrived at my house unexpectedly and I have nothing to serve him.’ But your friend says, ‘Why are you bothering me? The door’s locked and my family and I are all in bed. Do you expect me to get up and give you our food?’ But listen—because of your shameless impudence, even though it’s the middle of the night, your friend will get up out of his bed and give you all that you need. So it is with your prayers. Ask and you’ll receive. Seek and you’ll discover. Knock on heaven’s door, and it will one day open for you. Every persistent person will get what he asks for. Every persistent seeker will discover what he needs. And everyone who knocks persistently will one day find an open door”. 
Luke 11:5-10 (TPT)

Being persistent in our asking is essential to getting what it is that we desire. Our daily needs are not a surprise to God, and it delights Him for us to make our needs known to Him that He may show Himself strong on our behalf and meet our needs. 

The key is to ask from a believing heart. Jesus makes it clear that in asking for God’s promises we make God’s kingdom our primary pursuit, not from a heart filled with pride or privilege, for God doesn’t owe us anything.

We pursue Him from a heart of humility in recognizing that anything that God gives us is a gift that comes from His heart of love for us. 

The Pursuit of God’s kingdom is all about the surrender of self-interest that we may put to death our desires, that we may receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ, there was no-one more righteous than Jesus, and when we receive Him, He becomes our rightness and justice in this life.

“So above all, constantly chase after the realm of God’s kingdom and the righteousness that proceeds from him. Then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly”. Matthew 6:33 (TPT)

These are the main two questions we must ask in our daily walk with Jesus which are these:

1. Am I actively pursuing His Kingdom?
2. Is the righteousness of Christ Jesus evident in my life?

Wrestling with these two questions is essential to growing in Christ. It is so easy to lose sight of the importance of pursuing God’s kingdom, and receiving His righteousness for the enemy of our soul goes after us to gain any attention and to forget about God’s benefits. 

If you worked for an employer who provided health insurance benefits and you were very sick, would you go to the doctor and ignore the fact that you have medical benefits to pay for his services? Of course not! You would utilize your benefits so you could get the best care that you could get. It is the same way with God, He has an excellent benefits package which is ours for the asking, but we must pursue it and continually ask for it.

The question must be asked, “why must we continually ask?” Why can’t we ask once and not have to mention our needs again? Much like the parable above God sees the devotion of the heart from the one asking, the fact that as we ask, a fundamental dependence is being established, a surrender of self-will and a release of humility in our lives, which God loves.

Pursuing God is an activity that is best done in a community. As believers, when we gather, there is faith that is released that Jesus will appear in our midst and demonstrate through us His power in the form of spiritual gifts, this is where we can safely express our persistent asking.

I love the intimacy of gathering in small groups; it is where we get to know our fellow brother or sister in Christ, and we pursue Christ together by praying and speaking the mind of Christ to one another. We speak to each other through words of encouragement and words of knowledge; this is the practical way to express Christ to one another. 

We can also share Christ with others in the workplace and marketplace by just being ourselves and allowing the love of Christ to permeate our words and actions. Our lives are the living testimony of Christ, which shows others that He is alive and desires to be connected with us on a deeply personal level. 

The one thing that we can share with others most consistently is the asking. Ask the Lord for His presence, His love, His mercy, His kindness, it is there for all of us. 

Be Blessed;

Stephen Barnett