Ask

Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 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 good gifts to those who ask him!(Matthew 7:9-11).

So this is where we start in prayer. We start with knowing who God is--He is the Father who gives good gifts to those who ask. We also learn who we are--we are not beggars asking a miserly king for crumbs, but children and heirs of the most high God.

When we know who God is, we ask Him for what we want--but this is not a disinterested, it-would-be-nice-if, would-you-mind, I-kind-of-would-like request. No, this is a persistent invested in a response asking. Jesus describes it in three ways: he said, "ask", "seek", and "knock."

There are many people who argue that we shouldn't want much. And if we are speaking of greed, yes, this twisted want must be eradicated. But there's a certain leanness in our wanting. Most of our prayers involve our safety and comfort. My prayer is "Lord, keep me safe on I-4 today" not "Lord radically affect my sphere of influence so that all that come in touch with me are drawn to you."