WWHYIP by A.S.K.

One of my favorite stories that motivational speaker Les Brown tells is how he got a job at the radio station. He wanted to be a DJ. He went to the station one day and talked to "the man" who asked Les if he had any experience. Les told him no. The man responded that they didn't have any jobs. Les returned the next day and asked for a job,

"Didn't I tell you yesterday that we didn't have any jobs?'

"Yes, but I thought maybe somebody quit or retired."

Day three: "Good morning sir, I'm Les Brown. Do you have any jobs today?"

"I know who you are. Didn't I tell you yesterday and the day before we didn't have any work?"

"Well, I thought maybe somebody died or something. I didn't know."

Day four: "Good morning, Mr. Butterball. Do you have any . . .

"Go make yourself useful. Go get me some food."

Les got his foot in the door. He had to annoy the heck out of someone, but he got what he wanted.

In Luke 11, after Jesus told the disciples how to pray, he told them a parable about prayer. We pick it up in verse 5

⁵ Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ⁶ ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ ⁷ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ ⁸ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. Luke 11:5-8 NLT

I love the phrase "shameless persistence." :-)

I'm going to switch versions here because I like the way the Amplified Bible translates the verbs.

⁹So I say to you, Ask and keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you.

¹⁰For everyone who asks and keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened. Luke 11:9-10 AMP

I thought of Les Brown when I was thinking of an example of ask and keep on asking; seek and keep on seeking; and knock and keep on knocking. We don't have to be as dramatic with God as Les was with the man. The point is not that we're trying to wear God out. We are actually wearing out everything that tries to keep our answer from coming. What would happen if you prayed by asking, seeking, and knocking with shameless persistence? You know the answer: You will receive; you will find; and it will be opened.

I also think it's cool the way the words translate in English like an acrostic:

Ask

Seek

Knock

Asking is rather simple. But have you ever known someone who won't ask? They might say, "I need five bucks." To which you and I might respond, "Are you asking me?" I've known people like that and THAT'S annoying. It can actually be rude. I guess they have to humble themselves before they can ask. Forming a desire as a question rather than a statement says that you know the other person has something that you need. We may as well realize right now that God has everything we need. Let's form our requests as a question. Instead of "God I need a job," how about "Father will you please bless me with a job?" And for goodness sake, say "thank You" when He responds! The same people who have difficulty asking can't get the words "thank you" past their lips.

Seeking takes more work. If you've ever misplaced your keys, you know what I mean. You have no choice but to continue to seek until you find what you need or you may be stuck at home. Seeking in prayer can include reading the Word to find God's will about what we're praying for. Because if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. I John 5:14

Knocking is easy. It's basically a matter of showing up. "Good morning, God. Here I am again. I'll meet you the same time tomorrow." Just show up. Meet God in prayer. You may not have to say anything. Sometimes it's good to knock by sitting quietly focused on Him. He'll know you're there.

Pray with me:

Thank You Father that I don't have to beg and plead for You to answer my prayer. However, you have told me to ask, seek, and knock. You've shown me that I need to be persistent. Not because I'm fighting you to try to make You do something for me, but because there are other things that delay my blessings. I want to be the type of person who won't give up easily. I want to ask until I receive and see the Your response to my asking. I will seek You ; I will seek Your word until I find what I'm looking for. I will keep on knocking by showing up and reminding You that I'm still here. I'm still with You. I love You, Father. Thank You for another way that You're teaching me how to pray in Jesus' name and like Jesus said. Amen