Ask, for the Lord Will Provide

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, will he give him a serpent?  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?   -Matthew 7:9-11 (KJV) 

I have a number of hard and fast rules about going out to eat.  One is that I almost never send back a plate of food.  The last person I want to offend is the one back there in the kitchen who is preparing my food.  Last December Andrea and I were traveling and we stopped for dinner at a well known restaurant chain.  They were having a special on buffalo chicken tenders and I couldn’t resist, so I ordered them.  As I cut open the first piece I saw that the chicken was not just undercooked, but raw.  When the waitress came back I politely showed her the problem and asked if they could give me another order as these were barely cooked.   

A few minutes later a gentleman emerged from the kitchen with another order of chicken which he gave me.  He introduced himself as the kitchen manager and he apologized for the problem with the first order.  He then invited me to cut open a piece or two to make sure they were cooked all the way through this time, which I did.  Seeing that all was well he apologized again and went back to the kitchen.  I couldn’t help but consider how that these things certainly happen and that it’s easy for mistakes to be made.  What I appreciated was the manager’s willingness to make it right and to see that I had what I needed. 

This situation brings us to another consideration: God is perfectly willing to provide for us.  All we need to do is ask in faith.  Not only does the Lord provide, but He stands beside us to ensure that our needs are met and we are nourished and fulfilled.  How often do we go without the benefits of God’s blessings simply because we did not take the time to ask in faith?  Is this to say that God gives me everything I ask for?  The answer is no, but the Lord will instead provide for us according to our need and His will for our lives.  You may not believe this, but God knows what we need a lot better than we do.  Ours is to trust Him in faith that does not waver. 

What are you struggling with today?  What are your needs?  Go ahead and ask God.  He will provide.