Asking God

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
-Matthew 7:7
      I've been meaning to write about this for a while now, but I've kept putting it off due to school and other things. The topic I want to discuss is asking God. There are many times in life where I had to make a decision, and without consulting God I would make them. It's very natural for us as people to try to make decisions based on our own knowledge. However, I don't believe God wants us to live in this manner, because relying on ourselves only brings trouble.
      During a message, I heard a preacher talking about how he deals with his kids. When his kids would do something they should not have done, such as watch a bad movie, he would ask them a series of questions. The most interesting thing he would ask them is whether they asked to Holy Spirit about their choice. I thought this was very strange, and I'm sure most people would. The preacher wanted his children to understand how to live under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
      I think we too should learn how to ask God about choices we have to make in life. Often it is easy for us to ignore God in order to suit our best interest. For example, when I had to choose classes, I didn't even think to ask God about it. I just chose the classes I thought would be best for me. God must find it funny that we think that way, because God knows us much better than we know ourselves. God not only knows what is best for us, and He also wants the best for us. Asking God is a simple thing we can do to honor Him, and help ourselves at the same time.
      Many Christians would believe that it is important to obey God, but I would bet that most don't ask God about different things in their life. One of the best examples of this is "grey" areas in life, such as dating, drinking, etc. People don't ask God whether they should or should not do certain things, and claim that because the Bible does not explicitly say otherwise, they are justified in what they do. This mindset totally ignores that fact that God wants what is best for us. God loves us too much to allow us to indulge in things that will hinder us from loving Him back.
      It's easy to ask God about difficult decisions in life, but not so easy to ask Him about things will feel strongly about. If we don't ask God, how will we know what He wants in our lives? Even if we are convinced that we are doing the right thing, God may feel otherwise. God doesn't lead us in certain ways so that He can control us, but so that He can bless us. In my life I know it is difficult to even remember to ask God what He wants, but I'm learning that it is critical. He is willing to bless us, if only we would ask.
-Smart (P.S. This didn't turn out quite as I expected)