Luke 11:9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ESV

As you enter into your prayer closet, kneel, close your eyes, and knock-on God’s door, what are asking Him? Does He answer you or is He quiet? James may have given us the answer.

James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ESV

If we find ourselves asking for things from life instead of from God we are “asking wrongly.” The more we focus on ourselves instead of God the less we will seek Him and the less the door will be opened to us. Our time spent asking needs to be seeking God with our whole heart.

I spent some time not long ago meditating on this verse as a result of reading a piece from Oswald Chambers. He challenged me to examine why I experience those times when there is no answer to my knock [underlining mine for emphasis].

“Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Draw nigh to God. But knock – the door is closed, and you suffer from palpitation as you knock. Cleanse your hands – knock a bit louder, you begin to find you are dirty. Purify your heart – this is more personal still, you are desperately in earnest now, you will do anything. Be afflicted – have you ever been afflicted before God at the state of your inner life? There is no strand of self-pity left, but a heartbreaking affliction of amazement to find you are the kind of person that you are. Humble yourself – it is a humbling business to knock at God’s door – you have to knock with the crucified thief. To him that knocketh, it shall be opened.

What I walked away with, after a lot of self-examination, is that it all boils down to the fact that I have a choice: being self-centered or Christ-centered. It’s a choice I need to make every time I enter into my prayer closet with “my list” of petitions and questions; are they for my will or His will … a non-answer is all that I need know to question my desire.