7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.REFLECTIONSWritten by Monica LyIn this passage we see Jesus teaching us the importance of persisting in prayer. He encourages us to have confidence in our Heavenly Father who delights to give good gifts to his children - it’s as simple as just asking and it will be given!  But what are these good gifts that Jesus is referring to? Jesus tells us we have inherited the Kingdom of God and so these good gifts are whatever is needed to help us live out our identity as God's children. We are called to seek the norms and values of his Kingdom as described by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. These things include being pure in heart, possessing a compassionate and non-retaliatory spirit, living a life of integrity and so forth.  But as we think about it, these things can seem almost impossible. It is for this very reason that Jesus urges us to seek our Heavenly Father in prayer and to keep on praying, because it is only by His grace that we are able to do these things. In fact, we depend solely on His grace: it is by God's grace that we are called into the Kingdom and it is by God's grace that we can live out his Kingdom on earth!This passage makes me wonder about my prayer life: How do I approach our Heavenly Father in prayer? Am I confident in knowing what the good gifts are that my Heavenly Father desires to give me? Is my prayer life shaped by asking our Heavenly Father for those good gifts? Perhaps I am afraid to confront those issues of the heart that stand opposed to His kingdom. Perhaps I am not longing for God's kingdom as much as I should be. My prayer for all of us is that we will have confidence in approaching our Heavenly Father to ask and keep on asking Him for those good gifts, so that we can continue to live out his Kingdom on earth.ABOUT THE AUTHORMonica is part of our Fairfield Morning Church with her husband and 2 little girls.