Thursday in the First Week of Lent

Collect of the Day

Strengthen us, O Lord, by your grace, that in your might we may overcome all spiritual enemies, and with pure hearts serve you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Psalm         Lessons

138              Esther (Apocrypha) 14:1-6,12-14  Matthew 7:7-12

Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. Matthew 7: 7


One of the best qualities about one of my children is also one that causes me the most anxiety … his confidence. This child has never met a stranger. He believes that he is adored by all and is always confident that things will go his way, which leads to great anxiety on my part as a parent because I know that things don’t always work out in our favor. We don’t always make the team, or win the election and we aren’t always selected for honors. I worry that these eventual disappointments will bring his soaring spirit back down to earth.

 

Jesus reminds us to have the faith of a child. We are called on to pray with unbridled confidence. Esther faced death for revealing her faith, and prayed confidently to the Lord for deliverance. Matthew tells us there is no need to hedge our bets. God our Father, like any loving parent, will open the door when we knock. Yet we need to knock loudly. We need to knock boldly. We must knock with confidence. We should knock on God’s door with the unending pounding and faith of a child.