You Have to Ask. So Ask.

I entered the world as an extrovert, perhaps even a ham.

I’ve harnessed my extroversion to help me get lots of great opportunities. I get up front. I pitch an idea. I ask for help. Usually, things have materialized.

Somehow, I’ve turned into a selective introvert in my old age. I’ve come to treasure solitude and quiet. This is probably because with the bee hive of activity in my home with three young boys and a tight-knit church community, quietness has become so very scarce.

Too bad. Whether I’m feeling like talking to no one or I want to have 200 people over for pancakes, the principle remains:

You have not because you ask not.

This, of course, is a prayer principle. But I believe it applies to the way God answers prayer through others. You ask God by and through humbling yourself and asking others. You stick yourself out there. And you ask.

On Monday we started our Vacation Bible School in the park. A team came from Georgia to help us put it on. The intention was to pull in children from the community that were not connected with our church. We wanted to have a chance to share the love of Jesus with children who are outside our church.

Unfortunately, on Monday, we had nothing but kids from our church. Kids we love. But kids who all fit our pretty narrow cultural, economic, ethnic, educational slice of our community’s sociographic pie.

But there were several bus loads of day care kids at the park. We went up. We introduced ourselves to the supervisors.

And we asked.

The next morning, our Vacation Bible School enrollment was 3 times as large and 100% more diverse.

I felt more than a little funny about asking. But it was a matter of faith and prayerful action. I knew I had to ask.

You have to ask. You just have to. So Ask.

And then you’ll have lots of chances to thank Jesus for his surprising “Yes”.

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