It never hurts to ask

It never hurts to ask. I was reminded of that today in
 Nehemiah 2:1-5

¹ Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan,^[a] during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. ² So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.”Then I was terrified, ³ but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.”⁴ The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?”With a prayer to the God of heaven ⁵ I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.”

Nehemiah had something troubling him and needed help from the king. When it got to the point that the king knew something was wrong and called him on it Nehemiah had a decision to make, to tell the truth not knowing what the consequences were or to lie and say oh it’s nothing. He made the absolutely the right decision and prayed to God first before answering with the truth.

We face the same decisions when someone asks something or things look bleak if the first thing that we would do was to throw up a quick prayer to God he would be honored and we would be blessed. We often make the mistake of reacting first and then really having to pray afterwards becasue we had made the wrong choice.  Knowing that you’ve talked to the Boss before proceeding on anything should give you the confidence that you’ve been heard. It may not turn out the way that you thought it should but it will turn out the way God knew it would and that should be good enough for us.  

Nehemiah asked God for help before asking the king for help and the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt. I’m sure it did not go the way Nehemiah had planned, but it was no surprise to God how it went. The same thing can be said of you. If you ask Him for help and your trust in Jesus the end will not be a surprise but how you get there will be. Just remember it doesn’t hurt to ask.