I heard a story of a grandpa and his young grandson just hanging out together @ home. Then the grandson said he wanted some pickles. So the grandpa went to the fridge & got a jar of pickles. The little boy insisted on opening the jar himself. Knowing his grandson would not be able to, the grandpa gently just stepped back & allowed the little boy to try. With all his might, the young lad tried, & tried, & tried. He even looked @ his grandpa a couple times in the midst of his attempts, face all red from trying. After several minutes & several attempts, the young grandson was beat, tired…not quite crying, but certainly tears in his eyes from his failed attempts. Finally, he looks up to his grandpa & says, “Grandpa, can you help me?” At that moment, the grandpa smiled from ear-to-ear, walked over to his grandson, and gently said, “Yes, I would love to.” A few moments later, both are enjoying pickles!

Wow! Aren’t we a lot like the grandson, and God is like the grandpa, Who loves it when we ask for His help! God loves us so much that he gave us the freewill to try things apart from Him. Likewise, that same gift of freewill allows us to ask Him for help. God loves it when we do! Just know sometimes that He says yes, and sometimes He says no, or no-not-now. In any case, we should continue to ask and know His answers to us are designed for our betterment: to draw us closer to Him.

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
–James 1:2-5