Matthew 7:11 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?
Your little nephew, niece, child, or grandchild probably can’t do much of anything better than you can. You are probably faster, stronger, and smarter in every way. But, there is something that children can do better than you can do; kids are good at asking. The older we get the less inclined we are to ask and the more inclined we are to act, to do what we can on our own. Now, you may not be a kid, but you are still a child, not in the sense of age, but as a child of God by faith in the Lord Jesus.
In Matthew 7:7 Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” So, you can do more than pray after you pray, but you can’t do more than pray until you pray. The bottom line is you won’t know until you ask. There are so many things that you need and that you need to know that you won’t have and you won’t know until you ask. You may not know if it is God’s will to be praying for a certain thing, but pray until you do know. Be willing and obedient once you get an answer, but before you get an answer, pray.
There are some things we don’t need to pray about. For example, I know that I should be faithful to my wife and that I should be honest with people. There are basic areas of responsibility that I don’t need to ask the Lord about because I already know. But you won’t know what you haven’t been told unless you ask.
Remember, God knows. In Matthew 6:8 He says, “Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. “ Again, in Matthew 6:32 it says, “For your heavenly father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.” So, God knows. I don’t know, and that is why I am asking Him.
Also, God cares. Jesus says, “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, he will give him a serpent?” If my son asked for a piece of toast, I am not going to give him a rock. If he asks for at tuna fish sandwich, I am not going to give him a snake. That would be absurd. I am not God; I am just a human. But, “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?” So, God cares.
Finally, it makes a difference whether I ask or not. Notice the first word of this passage is “ask,” and the last thought is “how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give…” I ask because I am a child. God gives because He is the Father. Ask and give; that is prayer. It is God’s prerogative to say yes or no, but it is my duty, privilege, and joy to ask. How long do I seek? I seek until I find. How long do I knock? I knock until the door is opened. How long do I ask? I ask until I am given an answer. God can answer any way He wants, yes or no, but I need to be asking.
Charles Spurgeon essentially said, “How do we even know that we have a will to surrender until we first bring it to God in prayer?” I should surrender my will, but I should make that will known as I surrender it to God in prayer every day.