[CarrOut]

That's what Jesus said, but what should we ask? Let's look at a couple of unlikely guys who got it right.

The Prayer of Judas

There has been much talk in recent years about The Prayer of Jabez, but we do well do consider the prayer of Judas as well. I'm not talking about the traitor, but the apostle Judas who wasn't a traitor. If you don't remember him, that is not surprising. The biblical record is scant. He wasn't even always called Judas. Sometimes he was called Thaddeus or Lebbeus, but he was called Judas in the gospel of John, in the only recorded thing that he ever said. Since he was talking to the Lord, we can call it The Prayer of Judas: "Lord, what do you mean by saying that you will show us what you are like, but you will not show the people of this world?" (John 14:22). He asked for an explanation; and, boy, did he get one. If you ever looked at one of those Bibles where Jesus speaks in red you probably thumbed around to see what his longest speech was and discovered that it was The Sermon on the Mount. If you were really curious, you might have kept flipping pages and discovered that his second longest speech was The Olivet Discourse. I learned something this morning. The third longest thing we have recorded that Jesus said is his Answer to The Prayer of Judas. This obscure disciple, when he finally asked a question, asked one that received an answer full of blessing. Jesus spoke of love, of obedience, of the trinity, of our bodies being the temple of God, of learning, of remembering, of peace, of the second coming, of faith, of our relationship as branches to the vine (Jesus) and to the gardener (the Father), of joy, of friendship with God, of righteousness, of truth, of glory, of knowledge, and of inheritance--to mention a few things. Basically, he spoke words of comfort to a man who sought understanding.

Saul Says It All

Judas was an unlikely candidate for such a bountiful answer to his question because he was so obscure. Saul was also a questioner unlikely to have any standing before God, but not because he was obscure. He was infamous--a government sanctioned serial killer who specialized in hunting and executing Christians. One day God got his attention and he asked a simple question: "Who are you, Lord?" (Acts 9:5a). He, too, got an awesome answer. He stopped asserting himself and asked to know God. The answer he got is the subject of the next thirteen and a half books of the Bible. God made him missionary to the Gentiles: planting churches in Asia, Greece, and Rome; training Timothy and Titus as pastors; and writing books that are still foundations of theology today. God also brought him to shipwreck and stoning and prison. More than anything, God brought him to a place of peace where he could say "I have learned the secret of being content" (Philippians 4:12b).

Just Ask

Two different men. Two different questions. Two different answers. One God. One common theme. Comfort. Ask, and it shall be given you. Do we long for comfort? Do we dare ask a question of the God of all comfort? He may answer even the most unlikely questioner. Ask, and it shall be given you.