He Likes to be Asked
I was reading the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series the other day – the Magician’s Nephew (yes, it’s a children’s book.) It’s so interesting re-reading the books as an adult, understanding the symbolism of Aslan being Jesus. There was one part that really stood out for me…
In the book a boy called Diggory and a girl called Polly are sent on a quest by Aslan to retrieve the fruit of life. They ride on the back of a flying, talking horse. The journey is long, and they have to stop to get rest. The horse is eating grass but the boy and girl haven’t got anything to eat. Diggory then complains, saying he’s hungry and wondered why no one had thought to sort their dinner out.
The horse then goes on to say: “I’m sure Aslan would have if you’d just asked him.”
“I thought Aslan would have known without being asked.” the boy replies.
“I have no doubt he would. But he’s still the type that likes to be asked.” The horse says to the boy.
I found this bit of dialogue between the boy and the talking horse so interesting. The boy assumes that Aslan, being all knowing, doesn’t even need to be asked because surely, he already knows and will just do it anyway.
This is like us and God. Sometimes we don’t ask Him or tell Him things because He’s all knowing, He already knows how we feel, what we want and what we need, so why bother telling Him what He already knows? I find myself often only praying to God for the big things, praying in the moments of crisis and unexpected storms, but I don’t pray about the simple or even obvious things because, well, they seem too simple, too obvious.
“I thought Aslan would have known without being asked.” the boy replies.
“I have no doubt he would. But he’s still the type that likes to be asked.” The horse says to the boy.
I think I don’t need to pray that because God surely already knows and will just sort it out. Or I don’t tell Him how I feel because I think He already knows, and well… why inform an all-knowing God who can describe my feelings better than I can?
The reason it’s so important to ask God is because that’s what a relationship looks like. A relationship isn’t one person just silently giving what needs to be given without any conversing.
If I had a child (which I don’t, so I can’t use that excuse for reading kids’ books), I would want him to ask me for things, to ask me when he needs help, to not walk around with his shoelaces undone, waiting for me to just see it and sort it for him. I want him to come to me and say ‘Dad, can you please tie my shoelaces for me?’ I don’t want him to just assume I’m going to do everything for him without him needing to even acknowledge me or ask.
God WANTS us to ask Him, He wants us to converse with Him, He wants us to look up and say ‘can you do this for me’, ‘can you help me in this situation’, ‘can you give me that job I’ve been hoping for,’ etc. He wants you to tell Him about your day, about what made you happy and what made you sad, what fear you wrestled with and what moment you celebrated, because that’s what a relationship looks like.
Ask God today for the simple things. Yes, He knows all, He knows what you need, He knows what you’re going to say before you’ve even said it, but He still wants you to ask Him, He still wants you to talk to Him.
In Mark 10:51, Jesus asks the blind man: “what do you want me to do for you?” Surely it was clear he wanted healing, he wanted to see again but Jesus wanted him to ask, wanted him to state his request, wanted him to converse with Him and say what it was he wanted, and it was in that moment that Jesus healed him.
