The Freedom to Ask

Copyright 2012: singeronthesand

...how bold and free we then become in His presence,

freely asking accord to His will, sure that He's listening.

And if we're confident He's listening, we know that

what we've asked for is as good as ours.

1 John 5:14-15 [The Message]

Tonight is the drawing for the Mega Millions Lottery jackpot - the biggest in U.S. history.  At this writing, the jackpot has reach $640 million - over half a billion dollars!  A recent internet headline story stated:

  Lottery ticket lines swelled as the record Mega Millions jackpot grew to $640 million, thanks greatly to players who opened their wallets despite long odds of success. Officials estimated ticket-buyers will have spent more than $1.46 billion on the jackpot by the time Friday night's numbers are drawn.

~CBS News US Online

Obviously the more tickets you buy, the better your odds of winning.  But $1.46 billion spent on a game of chance?   Those odds are tremendously stacked against the players:  you are 8,000 times more likely to be murdered than win this jackpot, 50 times more likely to be struck by lightning, and and 20,000 times more likely to die in a car crash. 

There are those, however, who are counting on a "higher power" to help them win this mega-load of cash.  Ticket buyers speak of believing in that higher power, giving back to God if He helps them win the lottery, splitting it equally with the Man upstairs (a good deal both ways!), and just plain "...God knows that I really need that money."  In this lousy economy, there are many of us who could use a few extra bucks.  But a half a billion dollars?  

Some people believe that a text like the one above from the Apostle John is a carte blanche promise that God will give you what you ask for, if you have enough faith, of course.  A careful reading of John's words, however, shows that there is within this promise a condition:  if you ask according to His will.  That, in my book, makes all the difference in the world.  What is God's will for your life?  Is being a multimillionaire part of His plan for you?  Do you have the ability to use such largesse wisely?  Does He want you to experience the massive headaches and heartaches that receiving that kind of money generates?  Only He and you can answer those questions.