"Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened unto you: For every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it will be opened."
Most English Bibles have the concept of "ask, seek, and knock" embedded here (Matthew 7:7-8) and elsewhere. I'm not sure if it was a deliberate move by the translators, but the acronym for "ask, seek, knock" is ASK! Pretty crazy... but whether on purpose or not, it makes it all the more memorable.
Shaun Alexander (one of the greats of Seattle Seahawk history) wore #37 as his jersey. My understanding is that this number was chosen as a reminder of one of Shaun's favorite Bible verses, Psalm 37:4, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Two questions arise when I read this. First off, what does it mean to "delight yourself" in God? Second, what are my heart's desires?
Simply put, to "delight" in someone or something means to derive enjoyment from them. The entry from dictionary.com offers the definition as "a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment; joy; rapture..." But can I really "enjoy" God? What would that look like? I think of the mystics who spoke of God's love as an intoxicant more powerful than wine. Ever been drunk with love? (This is a different picture than that of the Zeus-like cosmic-thunderbolt-throwing disciplinarian!)
Next, do I even know the "desires of my heart"? This is where the ASKing bit above comes into play. The Hebrew word for "desires" in the Psalm comes from the root meaning "to ask." A more carefully nuanced translation would read, "And He will give you the askings of your heart."
Does this mean I can ask for a new red convertible Ferrari and some omnipotent genie will give it?
No. The Almighty is not a big fan of the freeze-dried drive-through quick-fix consumer culture we are swimming in. In this Psalm, the "askings" He gives come after the "delighting in." My personal evaluations of what I need and desire are shaped in response to my delight in the Lord, not before. What I ASK for is a function of my joyful relationship with God, not the other way around.
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Thank you for the enlightening blog. I look forward to reading them as soon as you post a new one. Please continue.
ReplyDeleteNicely put. I find when I delight in the Lord, my requests are much more in line with what he'd want for me, and it 'seems' as though my prayers are answered more, but it is probably just the benefits of a Word-based lifestyle.
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