Day 2
More Than Asking
“And I say to you, ask and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you.”
-Luke 11:19

Most of us are good at the first baby step of prayer. It is easy to ask God to do something! Unfortunately, after the asking, we think we are done, and that we are expected to do nothing. The first step in any journey is critical. We do not need to ask in order to receive. But asking is just the first step. Many more steps will make up a real journey of prayer. Jesus offers His disciples a model for such a prayer journey. Ask—yes, or course—but then seek, and finally, knock on the doors you find!

Seeking God’s will is much more work than simply asking; it takes time, attention, listening, looking, and searching. A journey of prayer will lead us far past asking, deep into new paths of seeking God’s way for our lives. Along those seeking paths we will find doorways—places where choices and decisions must be made. Do we have the courage and commitment to knock? And when those new doorways are opened, will we step into a new way of life?

Simply asking demands little from us. Seeking means finding God’s will in our lives, and such seeking will undoubtedly change us—redirecting us in God’s way. Changing us has always been the real power of prayer.

PRAYER
Lord, I seek Your will and Your will in my life. Lead me down Your paths for You name’s sake. Open doors that I might find a new way of life!