Stress Test Devotional April 20
April 20, 2024
The request stands at the center of genuine community. A demand separates one from another. A request brings us together—we stand in a place where there is no coercion or necessity. This is the Kingdom place we were meant to live and thrive in. We get what we ask for but only through an acknowledgement that the other may refuse and we must accept this exercise of their freedom. We must not punish refusals. The instruction of Jesus to “ask and knock” so you may “receive and have the door opened” is primarily about the attitude we bring to others as well as to God. Jesus moves from asking what we need of others to asking what we want from our Father.
Prayer
Teach me to ask, Lord. Show me the way to make a request, without pressure or manipulation, without deploying guilt or threat. Help me to enter that place where I respect the one whom I am asking and where he and I, or she and I, are together. Amen.
