Asking…

Jesus said in Matthew 7:7 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

In the gospel Jesus was encouraging his hearers to ask Father God for what they need… a lesson that can be difficult for us self-dependent Americans.

It seems that the Nigerians have taken Jesus at his word and then some, not only praying fervently to God for their needs, which for many are the very basic needs of life; food, health basic provision. Additionally they have learned the art of asking White Westerners, at least, for whatever they need. And I confess this take a bit of getting used to…

As I have gotten to know Jonathan, the guesthouse manager, I learned that he needs approximately 37,000Niara [about $310] for school tuition this coming year. And my heart breaks as I hear his story and I think maybe I could do that. We sponsor World Vision and SIM kids at $30/month; maybe I could take on one JETS student? I need to pray more about this. Now Jonathan has not asked me for this, it is my thought alone… a prompting from God or Western guilt is still to be determined.

But ask for other things Jonathan does simply, straightforwardly and unashamedly. It is as if he and other Nigerians I have met live by the credo “ask and it may be given to you…”

Jonathan told us about phones and how to get them. He mentioned that his phone was bought by a guesthouse guest who left it to Jonathan when he returned home. The phone is completely wrapped “scotch tape; I don’t know if the tape is to protect it or to hold it together? When we bought our phones, Jonathan said mater-of-factly, “Mike maybe when you go home you can leave the phone for me.”

Again in conversation I was asking Jonathan how he does his class writing, “When I have to type something I go to the business office and use their computers.” For a fee a student can use the computer and print pages (20N/page). I asked Jonathan how much a computer costs in Nigeria. Same price as in the US $600-800, which is equivalent to two-three years tuition! Later that day, Jonathan simply remarked, “Maybe you have an old laptop at home that you could give me…” Ask and it may be given to you.

I confess that the asking bugs me, I find myself less likely to help, not more. And it is by no means only Jonathan, many Nigerians do it. The boys at the City Ministries homes often ask for things.

Being asked is something I have to get used to… and by God’s grace to learn when God might be prompting me to give…