Don’t Stop Asking God

“Grandma, grandma, grandma,” says the three-year-old.

“Up, up, up,” says the one-year-old.

These two boys are not silent until they get a response from me, and I always respond–sometimes in the way they had hoped, sometimes with a “not now” and sometimes with a firm no–but usually with the response they had hoped for, because I am their Grandma, and my love and affection for them knows no bounds. Saying yes is my favorite.

Grandma, grandma, grandma is often a childlike, rude jab aimed at breaking through adult conversations and claiming all of the attention. But every time I hear this child’s voice, I think to myself, Oh, how I love hearing him call me grandma. How I love hearing that little boy clamoring for my attention. How I love to bring my face down toward his, to see what it is he wants.

Jesus gives his disciples a command in Matthew 7:7: Ask and it will be given to you. This verb “ask” is in the progressive tense, so it means to keep asking.

Ask, ask, ask.

Grandma, grandma, grandma.

Lord, Lord, Lord.

The affection of Jesus turns what would otherwise be considered an immature and ill-mannered demand into something sweet to his ears. Oh, how he loves for us to clamor for his attention. How he loves to bring his face down toward us, to hear us say what we want.

After three years of painful experiences and the sun just now beginning to punch through the darkness I’ve walked through, I look back and feel loved. Repetition fills my daily journal, as I have petitioned the Lord for the same things ad nauseum. My incessant asking for help, for comfort, for justice, for encouragement, for hope, for goodness, for mercy, for favor–over and over again–have resulted in intimacy of response from God. Custom response. Delighted response. He told me to ask without stopping, and I did it, and he gave and gave and gave.

What is it you need right now, to get through this day? What do you long for? What do you feel you’re lacking? Open up your Bible and see who God is. Pull truth from his word and ask.

Ask.

Ask again.

Again and again. Loudly. Don’t take a breath in between, as if you have good manners. You are deeply loved, beyond any kind of feeling a grandma could ever have for tow-headed little boys. God is ready to turn his ear toward you, and if it seems he hasn’t heard you after the first time you’ve asked, ramp it up and ask harder and louder. This is pleasing to him. Tug boldly on the pantleg of heaven.

10 Comments

  1. How I love this image: “every time I hear this child’s voice, I think to myself, Oh, how I love hearing him call me grandma. How I love hearing that little boy clamoring for my attention. How I love to bring my face down toward his, to see what it is he wants.” It is too easy to feel I am a bother to him, a pest. I hope you are right that he loves to hear us, even when we are clamoring for his attention.

    So very glad that you are writing again, and even more so that you are beginning to see the sun again after it was hidden for so long. Your testimony of the goodness of God *during* your trials, of his generous love toward you, gives me hope.

    1. It is beautiful worship to the Lord when we keep asking him for the same thing persistently, because it shows we know he is the only one who can provide it. He is the only living God who has what we need. He is honored when we insist he is the sole provider. You are never a bother to him.

      1. Thank you for that, truly.

  2. Oh I can’t even put words to how much I needed this truth today. These last 2 years have been the hardest in my life, which had already a lot of trials. I stopped asking. I assumed He knew and the answer was No. I’ve started to assume hard. Thank you for this reminder of hope, and the fruit of closeness with Him that comes from continuing to pour my tears out to Him, for His bottle.

    1. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been walking through a hard season, too. I understand it can get difficult to hold on to hope in prayer.

  3. Thank you for your message Christy. This is just what I needed to hear. Our loving Father see’s us and hears us. He knows our heart, our hurts. We can rely on his almighty care. I will come boldly before him, praying continually knowing that our Loving Father never tires of hearing his children’s plea’s.

  4. Nancy Jo Garbutt says:

    Thank you, Christy,
    I needed to hear this exact message. I have been praying and longing for a desire of my heart for a long time. I guess I have been tempted to quit praying for it, because God already knows about it. But this is just the message I needed, encouragement to keep on keeping on, and to ask with more of an urgency, and not less.
    Thank you!

    1. Don’t give up, friend. I’ll say a pray over you right now regarding this longing of your heart. Love you and Merry Christmas!!

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