“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.”
Matthew 7:7-8 NIV

If God is all-powerful, all-knowing and all-seeing, then why
should we need to ask Him for the things we need?

You know what? God does know what we need before we ask or
even realize we need it. He knows what is best for us, even when we don’t. But
He waits for us to ask Him for our needs before answering for many reasons.

1. Asking fosters trust.

When an infant cries and its parents respond in a timely and
consistent fashion, a bond of trust develops. In the same way, we learn to trust God when we
cry to Him and He meets our needs. If I don't ask, I never learn to trust Him.

2. Asking fosters our personal growth.

I chuckle when my daughter tells her kids to "use their
words" when they want something. Most of the time she understands their
gestures or childish grunts, but by making them articulate what they need, she helps
them to grow in their communication skills.

Often we don't know what we really want or need from God. We
react emotionally to circumstances, people or pain rather than responding to
God’s presence in our lives. “Using our words” helps us work through the strong
emotions to an understanding of what we really need from our heavenly Father. We
grow up in Him.

3. Asking keeps the lines of communication open with God.

Little children go through a “Why?” phase, constantly asking
questions. Then they hit puberty and suddenly their parents don’t know anything
at all. Thankfully, they outgrown that phase too and as adults they come to appreciate
their parents’ wisdom. They begin asking
the more honest questions on their hearts which fosters a deeper relationship
based on mutual respect, trust and love. And so it is between us and our
heavenly Father.

Lord, help me to trust you enough to ask the raw, innermost,
honest questions of my heart. Amen.