Prayer: Sometimes I Don't Ask

Do you ever feel like most of your prayers are always consumed with asking God for something? I know I do. There are so many needs around me each day. Friends who are sick, hurting, fighting disease, or having surgery. Relatives with similar or the same needs. I have friends, coworkers, and family members who need Jesus. Others with marriages that are struggling and kids that are straying away from the faith. Our country and its leadership need prayer. There is political unrest all around the world. Natural disasters. Believers are being persecuted in various countries. Prayers go up daily for wisdom and guidance. I also have my own needs, shortcomings, and failures I pray about. I feel very needy when it comes to prayer at times. Although, based on Scripture, I don't think my heavenly Father is bothered with all my requests.

Jesus taught us how the Father felt about prayer in Luke 11 when one of his disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Jesus gave them his model prayer which so many are familiar with:

Luke 11:2-3

2 Jesus said, “This is how you should pray: “Father, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. 3 Give us each day the food we need, 4 and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation.”

However, he didn't stop there. He went on in the next several verses to teach us not just how to think about prayer but also what God thinks about prayer. Jesus tells a story about a man going to his friend's house to ask for bread in the middle of the night. The man had a guest arrive unannounced and needed bread to feed him. The friend initially waves the man off telling him it is the middle of the night and his family is asleep but Jesus says the friend ultimately gives the man the bread because of his "shameless persistence." This is the moral of the story...

Luke 11:9-13

9 “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

In short, what Jesus is saying here is "keep asking." He is telling us to be persistent in bringing our requests to the Father. Just like I as a Father am always available to hear the needs and requests of my three sons, our heavenly Father is always available to hear our requests. We are told to come boldly to the throne of grace (Heb 4:16). Paul tells us to pray without ceasing (I Thess. 5:17). John tells us if we ask anything according to his will he hears us (1 John 5:14). So many times in Scriptures we are told to pray and bring our requests to the Father. Ask and you shall receive. 

But sometimes. Sometimes I don't ask. Sometimes I just show up to be and to say thank you. I just show up with gratitude. Of course, gratitude and thanksgiving are part of all my prayer times but then my "asks" follow. What I am talking about here are specific prayer sessions that are just reserved for not asking anything. It is a prayer time devoted to only thanking God for who he is and for what he has done for me. For my salvation. For health. Answered prayer. Prosperity. Friendships. The wisdom he provides. Blessings he has poured out on me and my family. I thank him for my wife and my boys. My church family. The freedoms we still have in this country. For the opportunity to know who God is and live in relationship with him when so many others are searching. I thank him for the gifts and talents he has given me. Ministry opportunities. My career. The list goes on. I have so much to be thankful for. 

Knowing God is a loving Father, I know I have no need to feel bad or guilty about bringing him my lengthy requests. Truthfully, I think he just relishes the time spent with us. I know that is how I feel about my own boys. However, I do appreciate when my boys recognize the things I have done for them and I greatly appreciate their gratitude. So, sometimes when my heart feels like it's going to explode because I am overwhelmed with the mercy and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes...I don't ask a thing. I just show up with gratitude and worship.

Psalm 100

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy. Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.