God once appeared to Solomon and said, “Ask for whatever you want Me to give you.”

Can you imagine? God appears to you and tells you to ask for whatever you want. Not need. Want.

Jesus once came across two blind men on the side of the road. They kept shouting, “Lord, son of David, have mercy on us!”

So Jesus asked them, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

On another occasion Jesus said, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.”

Sounds to me like God actually delights in granting our requests.

Previously, I’ve written about the fact that God doesn’t always answer us, at least not the way we want. Sometimes when we ask for something, He says “no” or “wait for it.” When that happens, we must continue to trust Him. Because He is good, He will not withhold whatever is best for us. If He does not grant our request, then we can be certain He has a better plan.

So what if God came to you today and said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you. Remain in Me and let My words remain in you, then ask Me for whatever you wish and I will give it to you. Go ahead. Ask. What do you want Me to do for you?”

What would you ask for?

Whatever it is, I’ll bet you’d take some time to really think it through. I would. I’d hate to blow the opportunity on the wrong thing.

The mother of James and John, two of Jesus’ disciples, once came to Him and asked for a favor. Jesus asked her, “What is it you want?”

She told Him she wanted her two sons to sit at His right and left in His kingdom.

Jesus told her, “You don’t know what you are asking.”

I wonder how often we don’t know what we’re asking. How often do we simply approach Jesus with the wrong requests? Requests, that if granted, wouldn’t be best for us or wouldn’t accomplish His purposes. At least not yet.

“What do you want for Me to do for you?”

It’s a powerful question. How would you answer?

Solomon asked for wisdom. He got it. And a lot more.

The blind men, of course, asked for their sight. They got it. Then they got a lot more by following Jesus.

I can’t say God is going to give you whatever you ask for, but I can say you won’t know unless you ask. So why not take some time to think it through. You might even ask Him what you should ask for.

Then ask for it. And keep asking.

Then combine patient waiting with your asking. And while you’re waiting, also ask Him to strengthen your faith.

What are you going to ask for?

A job?

A spouse?

A baby?

Healing?

Wisdom for a difficult decision?

Let me know and I’ll join you in asking.