Ask and You Shall Receive
by Michele Wheeler
Written in 2011
Ask, and You Shall Receive.
If ever there was a verse in the Bible that almost turned me into an atheist, it was this one.
Matthew 7:7 - Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you
So it says, yet who among us has not had prayers go unanswered? Prayers for a job, a house, the health of our family, the life of a loved one. Certainly we have all asked for things and not had them given unto us. So how come it is promised?
Several years ago our teen aged neighbor had two grandfathers in the hospital. They both had the exact same condition. One had known about it, and was undergoing surgery to correct the issue. The other suffered a heart-attack while out to lunch, and was rushed to the hospital. The boy and his family prayed fervently for both men. The grandfather who had the heart-attack survived and came home. The other grandfather died.
Did my neighbor receive?
To answer this I suggest that you consider three things. First, I will tell you about a time when I was eighteen years old. I wanted to purchase a motorcycle from a friend who was selling it. I had the money, so I went home and asked my dad. He said, "OK. Yes." Then he added, "but we need to go to the mall to get you some thick blue jeans, because otherwise you will burn and scratch your legs when you are learning. And of course you can't ride without a helmet." Now this was 1987. Thick BLUE JEANS were not in style. I wore my hair with bangs hair-sprayed three inches above my head like Madonna. (Not Jesus' mom- the other one.) I was not about to be seen in bluejeans and have my hair crushed by a helmet. So I said to my dad, "I think I won't buy the motorcycle, but can we still go to the mall?!" And so the first lesson about Ask and You Shall Receive is that sometimes our Father says yes, but the answer is really no. This is also sometimes summed up as, "be careful what you wish for."
The next story I want to tell you also took place in the 80's. It was 1986 and I was sitting in Physics class watching the Challenger space ship take off. In front of our dazed and confused eyes, it blew up in the sky and all on board were killed. I glanced at my teacher, and tears were streaming down his face. I had never really seen a man cry, so I was inclined to giggle a bit. But then he started talking. He told us that everything he had achieved in his life, he had gotten by not getting something he wanted. He said he had not gotten into his first choice of college, but that then he had met his wife at the school he did attend. He said his job at our high school was his second choice, but that he had loved it for several years. And he told us that he had been a runner-up for Christa McCauliff's place on the the Challenger. He had, therefore, his very life to thank for not getting what he wanted. So the second lesson about Ask and You Shall Receive is that sometimes No means Yes.
The last story I have on this matter is from a few summers ago. I was cooking dinner, and my husband was setting the table and chatting with me. Charlotte was inside reading, and Nathan was outside playing with his friends. When dinner was ready, Kurt told me to call the kids to the table. Nathan asked, "I am being so good and having so much fun, may I keep playing and eat later?" Kurt replied, "No, I set the table, and I want you to come eat with the family." So the last lesson about Ask and You Shall Receive is that sometimes it has absolutely nothing to do with anything we are doing on earth. Sometimes it is just that your Father has set a place for you at the table, and wants you home.
I hope that as you go along life, that you will get most of what you need, a lot of what you want, and that when it doesn't go your way you will remember that Sometimes Yes is No, Sometimes No is Yes, and Sometimes the Lord has his own Plan for you.
