7"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Sometimes God seems so far above us that He almost seems unapproachable. As I read through the lessons in the last couple of chapters, an image of God is started to be painted for us. God is the all powerful One who grants blessings as He sees fit. We are to let our light shine so others can see our works and glorify God. God deserves to be glorified. God rules in heaven and not even the Pharisees who know all the laws are righteous enough to enter heaven. God is our judge who will determine who may enter heaven and the alternative is so awful that we should do whatever it takes to make sure we can go to heaven. God's laws are so very hard for us to follow as we are constantly be tempted by sin. God is perfect and He would like for us to be perfect too. God knows of everything we do in secret. Even in the Lord's prayer, we praise God but the only things we ask for are the things we need. God is jealous and wants our whole heart, our whole body, and our whole devotion. He has the power to forgive our sins, but we must show the same level of forgiveness to others. He takes care of everything. He is the One who will be our final judge, and He will be as critical in our judgment as we are in our judgment of others.
How do you approach someone who is that powerful, that busy, that much better than us? Jesus reminds us that God is also our Father. He has time for each and everyone one of us. Just as a loving father, He loves each of us. He wants us to go to Him, not just in our most dire needs, but in all our wants and desires. Have you ever had a family member or a friend who you loved who didn't come to you when they wanted something that you could have easily have helped them with? It hurts when you find out later that they didn't come to you. God wants to be that kind of Father to us. He wants us to come to Him in all we ask, seek, aspire. Yes, God is that powerful, that busy, and that much better than us, but He is not human, He is God. He always has time for us and wants us to go to Him in everything. He wants to hear from us in whatever we have to say. He has the ability to provide anything we could possibly ask for. He may be many things to us, but above all, He is our Father.
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. Does this mean God should give us everything we ask for? No, everyone knows that children don't always know what is best for them. God also knows much more than we do what is best for us. Ask, seek, and knock. Your prayers will not be ignored. Your prayers will be answered, though not always with exactly what you wished. You will receive something, you will find something, some door will be opened to you. God in all his power and wisdom and as a loving Father will provide exactly what is best for you.
Next Jesus talks of the Golden Rule, do unto others what you would have them do unto you. I have heard it many times before. It can't be beat for better understanding how we should treat others. But I wonder if Jesus mentions it here because we should also apply the same rule to God. Show the same love and devotion to God as He is showing to you. Be the friend to God as you would like your friends to be to you. Just as you want open communication in all things between you and those you love, keep that same open communication between you and God. Many times the person you love already knows how you feel about something, but it is still good to express those feelings with them, just as God who already knows all your wants and needs still wants to hear you express them. Share the wants and the needs. Share the good times and the bad. Even take an occasional joke to God. Remember, you weren't placed on this earth in this difficult life against sin all on your own, God is there with you in all things. God is powerful, but He is also approachable!