Thursday of Week 27 in Ordinary Time
Gal 3:15
Lk 11:5-13
“For the one who asks always receives.”
One of the things I learned in the corporate world was to just ask, because we never know if the answer will be ‘yes’. But if we never ask, the answer will always be ‘no’. Even with this mindset, it had not always been easy to ask. Most of the time, I need the courage to ask.
And lately, I’ve come to realize that even asking God takes courage. In asking for what we desire, we are putting ourselves in a very vulnerable position. In asking, we are opening up our hearts to God. It’s like being aware that God can peer into our hearts and we’re standing there hoping that the desires of our hearts will be satisfied. For some of us, even if we know that we can hope in God, asking God can still be an uncomfortable experience. We sometimes get flooded with doubts. What if God does not want what I want? What if I’m asking God for too much? What if it’s not good for me? What if I don’t get it soon?
It may be an uncomfortable time, but it’s at this moment that God gives us the opportunity to choose to trust him. It’s a beautiful moment where we realize that everything is in God’s hands, even our desires.
It’s also a very good opportunity to know ourselves. Some say that if God is really all knowing, why do we need to ask him what we need? If he already knew what we needed, and if he already knew our hearts, why is God telling us to ask him? God indeed knows everything about us – from our frivolous wants, to our deepest desires; and even the desires we don’t know. By telling us to ask him, it’s one way that God reveals ourselves to us. It’s God’s way of helping us know what’s important for us. It’s God’s way of helping us to discover where else we need to grow. By helping us see our hearts, God helps us see and face who we really are.
Once we see ourselves as we are, we will be able to fully love ourselves. Imagine seeing our darkest desires, our fears, our longings. That is the us that God sees. He sees both our good and unpleasant parts. And he still loves us, even if we ask the unreasonable. As we see how God loves us so much, perhaps we would then be able to love ourselves more. How can I not love the ‘me’ that God loves so much?
This is not easy. To sincerely ask God is to open our hearts to him. We need courage to tell God what is really in our hearts.
I invite you, my brothers and sisters, to just ask God what you really want to ask him. We will always get an answer from him.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Stephanie Villa)
Prayer: Father, help me have the courage to look into my heart and ask you what I’ve always wanted to ask.
Thanksgiving: Thank you, Father, for helping me know and love myself.
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