Ask, seek and knock to help you develop your faith

Published: September 21, 2019

By Betsy Wiederkehr Huss
Blessed Sacrament Church, Jonesboro

What do most of us do when we have a question or want to know something? “Hey Google, …?” “Siri, what does ... mean?” “Alexa, where can I find ...?” We ask freely throughout the day and people do not seem to mind this seeking.

But, what happens when we have questions concerning our faith nowadays? Do we feel as free, like above, to ask someone, or do we wonder if we will be judged for asking? Will conclusions be jumped to because of them? “Oh my, are they leaving the Church?” Does age matter when asking? Little kids are supposed to be curious, ask a lot of questions and follow-up questions, like, “Why?” and, again, “Why?” and “How come?”

What about a teenager, when they ask a faith question — do we just spew information or a formulated answer at them and avoid the possible discussion? Do older people who have lived their faith for years get the option to question, or do we think they know all the answers? Do they feel like they should have all the answers?

When one asks a sincere faith question, we might assume they want “the” answer from us. They are seeking, after all. But, as a 20-something shared with me, “The journey of finding information yourself will make your faith that much stronger because you know why and how you came to believe as you do, rather than just relying on the opinions of others. You learn more from the experience of seeking answers over time, and can then live more confidently in your faith.”

So, remember, when trying to help someone, when sharing or discussing with others, people process at different rates. We each learn best in different ways (reading, writing, hearing, seeing, doing, talking ideas out, silently mulling over them, etc.). When combining interactions, we learn and retain information better and can apply it to life. It is OK to struggle with God’s will — Jesus did in the garden — and wrestle with how our faith meshes and mingles within our lives and how we live it.

Ever hear of the A.S.K. verses? (Ask, Seek, Knock; Matthew 7:7-11; Luke 11:9-13) “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

If we pray and bring to God our heartfelt faith questions, and truly seek, then ways to grow spiritually will be open to us. Some questions and prayers may be answered quickly, others may take a lifetime but our asking, seeking and knocking are not a surprise to God. God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us as we journey in discovering the Kingdom of God.

Truly seeking and growing in understanding is a good thing. In our searches throughout life, finding out what one disagrees with or does not believe is beneficial too. Taking time to pray, wonder and think on issues of faith, shows one is interested, serious to some degree, to be looking.

Instead of running away or avoiding questions, we can embrace, focus on and investigate them. Seek people you trust to dialogue with, read articles, books and Scripture, journal, listen to podcasts to help you in your search, to help you develop your faith. Knock on some doors, so to speak, and above all, pray for guidance by the Holy Spirit. Be active, be invested in growing your faith, no matter what your age or where you see yourself spiritually.

Betsy Wiederkehr Huss has a master’s degree in theology and has been involved in ministry to all ages for 36 years. Betsy and her husband Martin are studying in the diocese’s diaconate formation program. This article was originally published in Arkansas Catholic Sept. 21, 2019. Copyright Diocese of Little Rock. All rights reserved. This article may be copied or redistributed with acknowledgement and permission of the publisher.