Healthy Asking
Jesus, as the Son of God, asked His Father for things for the sake of others and Himself often. He knew He was here on earth for a purpose and was on a mission to represent the Father and accomplish His will accurately. Jesus knew that part of His mission was to walk in a relationship with the Father for all to see. He was meant to put the Father on display, and that could not be done apart from a relationship with the Father.
In a healthy relationship, there is no fear in asking someone you believe loves you for something you need, knowing they can provide it, especially when you are living your life to make them known to others. Neither will you fear them asking you for something they desire.
In a relationship born of love, neither party will take advantage of the other for selfish reasons. There is a good reason for asking and giving, and there is a good reason for fulfilling the desires of the other. There is trust in the character of the parties involved, and there is value and worth ascribed that produces the fruit of respect.
Jesus indicates this reality when He makes a promise to His disciples about asking.
John 15:7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love."
John 16:23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. 24 Until now, you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.
When actual relational love-based asking is missing, the result is the fruit of division and tensions. Asking might still occur, but in a very different way.
James 4:1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your flesh? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and wage war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
Often church members can go without because they do not ask, and when they do not ask, it can be a sign of a lack of engaging in the relationship that has been so freely offered in Christ. Then there is the flip side of that coin. They ask only for things from a selfish perspective with regard to enjoying this world and all it has to offer as opposed to being kingdom motivated.
In a relationship, healthy asking is encouraged, for it demonstrates dependency and trust. Not all asking involves the getting of worldly things; it can also involve the desire to know something about the One being asked, or about how to navigate certain situations, etc.
My prayer for you today is that the Holy Spirit will grant you a profound revelation of the Father's love for you and His perfect purpose for your life so that you might be able to have confidence in your asking of Him for the things necessary to advance His kingdom and reveal His goodness in your life.
