So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” – Luke 11:9-13

Not that long ago I had a friend who was mad at God because she wanted something that she prayed for all the time, and it just never happened. She always referenced this verse as the reason God should have been giving her that very thing that she’s asking for.

I feel like it’s worth breaking this down for the ones who say this is God’s promise to give us exactly the thing we ask for. It’s not that simple, and at the same time it is.

First of all, the previous verse says that if you need something for a neighbor and he’s not inclined to give it to him, but you keep pestering him for it, eventually he’ll give it to you because you’ve annoyed him so badly. In that, Jesus is telling us to be relentless about our prayers, yes. So do that.

But keep in mind that the thing you’re asking for may not be a fish, it may be a snake. You may think it’s as simple as asking God to give you a fish, but He sees all and you don’t. He might know that fish is poison, or He might know it won’t be enough for you. So He might give you a better fish in His time. You have to trust not only His hand, but also His heart.

The other important thing to remember is that to God, a thousand years is like a day, and a day is like a thousand years. He will not bring you anything out of its time. You may have your eye on something and you want it now, right now, you just can’t wait. So when God doesn’t immediately give it to you, you think He isn’t going to. We lose faith in God because we don’t see Him moving, when what we’re told to do is KEEP KNOCKING.

It could take a hundred years, like Abraham and Sarah. It could take generations, though we hope He does it in our lifetime. But the fact is that He will do it when it is time, not when you throw a temper tantrum and turn your back on Him as if there’s anywhere else to go.

He’s the God of the Universe, and we are audacious enough to look at this passage and think we understand it entirely, but we also in our arrogance think that it’s the directions to turning God into our cosmic ATM.

No, this verse is to teach us to keep waiting for God. Be constant, be persistent, and let Him do His thing in His time.

Or… Be strong, and have faith, and wait on the Lord. – Psalm 27:4 ❤️