Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find;

knock, and it will be opened to you.

Matt. 7:7

The art of asking has been forgotten to the point of neglect and spiritually detached from our soul for its potential in power. We have not because we ask not! For some, asking seems to roll off the tongue quite fluidly but for others, asking goes against our very nature. This intercourse of the soul with God seems more like a one-way conversation with ourselves and a disconnect with our Father. It’s vital to understand our approach to the throne with a god fearing demeanor, colored in unworthiness because of sin yet in unhesitating submission to His divine will. Prayer can be in secret (Matt.6:6), prayer can be in the form of intercession (Ps.122:6), prayer can be corporate, among family, social or in the service of the sanctuary. Either way, you enter in by means of kneeling (1 Kings 8:54), bowing and falling prostrate (Gen.24:26), spreading your hands (1 Tim 2:8), standing (1 Sam.1:26), start asking!

 “Prayer is beyond any question the highest activity of the human soul. Man is at his greatest and highest when upon his knees he comes face to face with God.”
― D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones 

Recently my 4 year old asked me for a certain toy he wanted. His approach of asking was priceless, it was as if he practiced his speech beforehand. Daddy can I have a bouncy house? With his soft, still voice, the look of sadness illuminating from his face and a sense of urgency embed deep within his heart, how could I say no? We have divine access to our heavenly father just as Daniel prayed and God enabled him to tell Nebuchadnezzar his dream and to give the interpretation of it. Just as Nehemiah prayed and God inclined the heart of the Persian king to grant him a leave of absence to rebuild Jerusalem. What makes the modern day man any different from the old patriarchs or church fathers of the time? Has God changed in his love and shuns us away like some unwanted thing? Hardly the case!

“Prayer is like the dove that Noah sent forth, which blessed him not only when it returned with an olive-leaf in its mouth, but when it never returned at all”

– Robinson’s Job

Biblical prayer is not just approaching God in simplicity (Luke 11:5-8) but its Gods graciously initiative, the establishing of the covenant, and the promise of help and deliverance. We all have desires and matters of the heart that God already knows before we even ask of it. Our prayers are rooted in Christ’s intercession so we need only to ask in his name and it will be given. Stop holding back what God already knows. Let your petition be personal, your praise be prominent, your point being purposeful. He answers not according to your merit or morality but in connection with His will. Expressing our words in humility and patience, immutable in our divine communication and tenacious in our relationship with Him is the true art of praying.