What Did Jesus Say About Asking and Receiving?

Thought For Today September1
What did Jesus say about asking and receiving?
By: Robert A. Searles

What a great privilege we have as the redeemed children of God to come boldly to the throne of God in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and make our request known to him!
Of course, he already knows the things that we need before we ask him, but it honors him when we come to him and ask in faith. When we approach God our heavenly Father, we are to picture ourselves as when we were little children approaching our earthly father, asking for the things that we desired, believing with all our heart that we would receive that for which we asked , if, in the wisdom of our earthly father, it would be good for us.

God does not want us to be lazy, helpless children. Sometimes God makes available to us the things that we ask, but requires us to go seek and gather by the means which he has already provided. God feeds the sparrows, but they must go and gather that which God has put there for them. Sometimes God answers our prayers by leading us to doors upon which we need to knock to take advantage of all the opportunities which he has provided for us. If we are faithful in reading and studying God's word and praying, God gives us the wisdom to know how to use all our earthly means to solve our problems. If God must, he will change the course of nature to help us 

Jesus said: "Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." Matthew 7: 7-12