I Bring Before You My Need

Matthew 7:7-12
7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If 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! 12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

I am always speechless when I read this passage – I am overwhelmed by the boundlessness of God’s love. If I ask, sinner that I am, I will receive? If I knock, the door will open? It is too vast to comprehend. The passage says the gifts of God are so much greater than what an “evil” man would give to simply do right by his child. It makes me feel special, I feel loved.
But then two things jump out. In order to receive these gifts, this bounty, one must ask, seek, knock. It is not a passive process, we must ask the Lord for what we need. Secondly and probably more importantly, Jesus ties this concept, as always, to the way we are to live; “do unto others as what you would have them do unto you.” That is always the bottom line.
This passage brings to mind the contemporary chant:
Let it rain, let it rain, open the Floodgates of Heaven.
Let it rain, let it rain, open the Floodgates of Heaven.
Let it rain, let it rain, open the Floodgates of Heaven.
Amen.
-Babs Ross
Prayer- Lord, I bring before you my need, my real need, so that you can help me love more fully.