I watched him as he went from person to person in the Food Court asking for spare change “to buy some food.” He wasn’t having any success and so he came over to where I was standing in line and in broken English, asked the people serving for something to eat. The couple looked at each other before the wife took up a plate and prepared a small serving. Before she could hand it to him, he asked, “More, please?”

Those in line chuckled at the man’s boldness but as soon as he spoke, the words from James 4:2b sprung to life in my mind: “You do not have because you do not ask [it of God]” (AMP).  Right before me was someone who had asked not only for what he needed, but did so for the amount that he felt would satisfy his hunger.  And he did so confidently.  He needed food and a small amount was not going to do. As I watched the events unfold, the lady smiled and doubled the portions on the plate. This time he took it without hesitation, said his thanks, before walking off to find a seat to have his meal.

The thought occurred to me that his request matched the severity of his need. In a spiritual sense, how many Christians fall short in that regard? From the old hymn we recall the words: “Oh what peace we often forfeit / Oh, what needless pain we bear / All because we do not carry / Ev’rything to God in prayer!” This is a striking indictment on the believer’s inability to recognize and appreciate that the severity of our needs will never exhaust the resources of God. The writer to the Hebrews encourages us to come boldly unto the throne of grace (4:16).  There we find Him of whom it is written, He “calls into being that which does not exist” (Romans 4:17). It really does not matter the needs, or the severity of those needs, God is more than able to meet them. I believe this was what Peter had in mind when he wrote, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (1 Peter 5:7). There is no justifiable reason to keep any of our cares (worries, anxieties, doubts, fears, needs) to ourselves.  We are to cast them ALL upon Him who not only cares, but does so “[with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]” (AMP).

Knowing God’s inexhaustible supply, Jesus encourages His disciples to “ask and keep on asking and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking and you will find; knock and keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking receives, and he who keeps on seeking finds, and to him who keeps on knocking, it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). Put the first letter of the three instructions together and we get the word “ASK.”  Do so confidently and be persistent!  No limits, no restrictions; just with the assurance that the things that conform to the will of God for our lives are ours through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19). With that in mind, let us not be afraid to ask for what we need. We serve a God who specializes in meeting every need, even the ones that seem impossible.