“Asking”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Saturday, October 22, 2022

Luke 11:1-13 (Forward, p. 85) CEV p. 1074

If the truth be told, I approached today’s passage with more than a little bit of hesitancy and reluctance. And, why might that be? you ask. It is because the reading is Jesus’ familiar passage on prayer, one that I have preached on and taught on many, many times over the years. And so, my reluctance came from an initial thought, “What more can God teach me from this passage that I don’t already know, that I haven’t already heard?” Michael, oh ye of little faith. God can always teach us more, if only we are open and ready to hear.

With this in mind, I approached this passage yet again, again for the zillionth time, but with an open mind to see and hear what God might be saying. And what leapt out at me but the word ‘ask’. That word or its cognates is mentioned explicitly six times but is mentioned by implication numerous other times.

But, you might be asking, what in the world is unusual about that? Isn’t asking what we normally think of when it comes to prayer? Isn’t that sometimes our problem, namely that we focus almost entirely on asking and not on listening or submitting or obeying?

This is all too true, but our passage has some things that Jesus wants us to know about our asking. Firstly, our asking is to be in light of who God is. We need to see God, not as our personal ‘possession’ (my Father versus our Father) nor as some sort of impersonal vending machine who merely spits out whatever item we have put in the correct coinage to buy. He is our ‘heavenly’ Father, one who needs to be treated with respect and with the dignity and reverence that befits His person.

Secondly, our asking is to be in light of what God wants for the world. We are to focus on His will, His kingdom, first and foremost, and to ask for His help in establishing them. That’s what our initial asking should be about. That’s a far cry from the gimme, gimme attitude that sometimes characterizes prayer. Do we really want God’s will to be done, God’s kingdom come here on earth? That, first and foremost should be our heart’s content, our earnest desire--all before our personal needs and desires.

So then, finally comes our personal prayers, our personal asking, but even here there might be a big surprise. Jesus’ exposition of these covers the entire ‘waterfront’. He includes prayers for everything in our lives, physical, social and spiritual, nothing is considered irrelevant and nothing is left out. We are to pray for our ‘daily bread’, our daily sustenance. Now notice, He doesn’t say anything about tomorrow’s bread, or the next day. Nothing is said about building up a great bank account or retirement fund. We are to ask, and to trust Him day by day, rather than put our trust in some nest egg.

And we are to pray for our relationships, our social needs, namely for forgiveness—and even here, there is a catch or two. We have to admit that we need it in the first place, and we have to extend the same forgiveness to others that we would like to receive ourselves. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them.” Jesus is saying that the measure we mete out in our dealings with others will be the one used for ourselves. And, even here, is forgiveness, whether of ourselves or of others, the first thing or the main thing that comes in our prayers, in our asking? I suspect not. I suspect that approval or agreement or status is more likely to be on our minds.

And then, finally, come our spiritual prayers, ‘lead us not into temptation’ (keep us from a time of trial, some translations read) and ‘deliver us from evil—the evil one. Again, do such things really come up very often when it comes to our prayers? Again, I suspect not. For one thing, we have often come to ‘expect’ times of trial or temptation as a matter of course. And, for another, we rarely even think or consider the evil one in our prayers. But God thinks that we should.

And then, in today’s passage comes the parts where Jesus explicitly mentions asking. We are to keep on asking, just as a friend did in the middle of the night, and to do so until we receive what we need. And, we are to ask specifically, as do children of their parents. And, we are to ask for God’s Holy Spirit. (That, by the way, is not an afterthought, but central to the ‘whole business’, as we will see.)

And what are the results of all this asking? We will most definitely receive, though it may not always be when or what we ask for. Our heavenly Father, like any ‘proper’ earthly parents, gives only good gifts to those who ask—not something destructive or deadly like a serpent or a scorpion. And, above all else, He gives the Holy Spirit, the spirit of power and grace and guidance, who will help us pray, help us to ask aright, help us to more truly know the Father, and lead us more fully into God’s kingdom and God’s will. Yes, Jesus’ teaching is that we certainly must ask, and not be reluctant or slow to do so (as is often the case). That is what He wants for us. Amen.

Forward notes: “So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you” (verse 9).

“’Seek Ye First’ was a favorite hymn in our parish, and though the choir provided leadership, this was one that parishioners, ushers, acolytes, and priests were not shy in raising their voices. The words are so instructive and comforting for us: ‘knock, and the door will be opened’ provides the hope that we seek.

“Today’s reading from Luke also includes Jesus’s response to a disciple’s request that he teach them to pray. Jesus’s answer to his disciple provides us with the basis for prayer used in Episcopal, Anglican, and most Christian denominations.

“In Luke, Jesus is speaking to us, using practical words and examples we can trust. In both the Lord’s Prayer and this verse, we learn to ask, communicate, seek, and talk with our God. Whether said or sung, these verses add a song to our hearts.”

Moving Forward: “Sing ‘Seek Ye First’ during your prayer time today. If possible, sing it loudly and with gusto!”