You'll Never Know

Last winter, I took my friend, Eric Magnuson to a car dealership where
he was buying a previously owned minivan.  I had ice on my driver's
side window so when I went into the dealership with my friend, I
asked, "do you have any complimentary ice scrapers around here?"  I
have seen promotional scrapers before with a merchant's name on it so
I took a chance that the car dealer might have some of these lying
around.  The salesman looked at me blankly but then reached down under
his desk and pulled out an ice scraper.  Not the advertising kind,
mind you, but the kind for which you'd have to pay $5 or more, but
rarely do because you keep getting those free flimsy plastic ones.
Or, if you are like me, you use an outdated credit card or cassette
case to scrape your windshield.

Anyway, the dealer said, "here, you can keep this" and handed me the
mega-scraper. My friend, the one who was actually buying a car from
this dealer, was astonished. I shrugged at him and said, "hey, you
never know unless you ask."
 
The Bible has quite a bit to say about asking and this incident
brought to mind the older brother in the story about the Prodigal
Son. He felt a grest sense of injustice because he had been unwavering
in his devotion to the family yet never received the lavish treatment
that his shameful brother did upon his return from the far
country. What the father told the older brother has given me much to
consider about the privilege I have in God's Family that I too often
take for granted: "All that I have is yours."
 
James says, "You do not have because you do not ask God.  When you
ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you
may spend what you get on your pleasures."  Many devoted Christians
are not taking advantage of thier inheritance. Some of us are asking,
but with the wrong motives.
 
"Why do I need to ask God for anything? He already knows what I
want."  The answer has to do with God's glory and our relationship
with Him.  Whatever I ask for, I try to speak plainly and directly
with God, avoiding vague generalities and flowery prose.  Beating
around the bush is pointless because He does already know what I want.
Complete honesty clears the channel between God and me. It paves the
way for correction when my motives are self-serving, and for blessing
when my motives are pure.  Asking God for something with a pure heart
gains access to all the Father has for me. "The prayer of a righteous
man is powerful and effective."
 
I want to ask God with a pure heart for all that He has to offer so
that I am not caught grumbling, "You never did this for me."  And
hey, you'll never know unless you ask.