Asking and discovering

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 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find” 

Matthew 7:7. 

I’m convinced I had a ‘Samuel moment’ when I was 5. I thought I could hear my mum calling me from upstairs, but when I repeat- edly went up to respond she said that it wasn’t her. No amazing epiphany from God followed, so whether it was him or my imagination we shall never truly know. However, it has encouraged me to follow, enquire and respond whenever I have felt (or heard) God calling me since then! What is your usual reaction when you feel God calling you? 

When I ask my kids to fetch something, they soon return empty-handed saying they can’t find it. My favourite response   to this is: “Look with your eyes, not your mouth!” In your life    and work, do you go around seeking answers, researching and exploring until you are satisfied? Or do you try for a bit and then give up if God doesn’t immediately respond? 

I know that I do both, but the more I’ve asked God to answer   my questions as I’ve got older, the more I’ve felt his response is that he has already either given me the answer or the means and intelligence to discover it for myself. If we’re honest, this can be frustrating, but it has taught me greater maturity and wisdom rather than making me over-reliant on easy answers or supernatu- ral intervention…or leaving me tempted to give up! 

Discuss this topic with your mentee, using these questions as prompts: 

• Do you have any questions for God? 
• Have you sought answers from him about specific things you don’t understand? 
• Have you found the answers with his help? 
• Have you ever given up having not really found an answer? 

List all their questions, big and small. See how many small ones you could knock off quickly, then set a plan together to help them find answers for the others. 

Many of the answers we seek from God can be found through people we trust, so your challenge this month is to help your mentee access the right people to get the answers. Some ideas for useful contacts might be: 

• People with expertise or specific passions within your church or community 
• Friends of friends: call in some favours for your mentee 
• Those you don’t know but could find a way to reach (for example celebrities or well-known Christians) via social media or the relevant websites 
• Your church leader 
• Your local MP 
• Local charities and other volunteering organisations 
• Local business owners 
• People with experience of what your mentee wants help with / information on (for example homeless people if they want to get involved in helping) 

Encourage your mentee to be persistent and not to give up until they have found their answers!