Ask, and it shall be given you

"Ask, and it shall be given you."—Matt. 7:7.

We sometimes feel our need of certain things, but are sad because we think them beyond our reach. Were they within sight, or within touch, like the grass under our feet, or like the river that flows by our dwelling, we should feel certain of getting them; but they seem to us far off, and we despair of having them.

This is unbelief. It is dealing with God as if He were not the God of all grace; it is using prayer as if it were not the means of obtaining what we need; and it is treating His promises as if they were not meant to be kept.

Now, the question with us should never  be, Is the thing that we desire out of sight, or far off, or difficult, or costly? but simply, Hasn't God told us come to Him for it? Whatever we are warranted to ask for, is as truly within our reach as is the flower at our side, which we have only to stoop down and pluck. Thus God has placed every spiritual blessing within our reach, because He has told us to pray for them. Is it His own Holy Spirit that we desire, or is it more faith, or a truer sense of sin, or warmer love, or a holier life? Let us never feel as if any of these things were far off, or hard to be gotten. They are at hand. They are within God's reach, and therefore they are within ours, because they are the things which He has taught us to ask for.