Cliches express a truth. The truths may be be simple, test, as I have added years on, become older, dimple works for me.
As a teacher I employed the Socratic method of class instruction. A cliche I often used was, the only poor question is the unspoken one.
Jesus’ disciples, with fear holding them, did not ask questions when Jesus taught on his coming sufferings and death,
“Leaving there, they went through Galilee. He didn’t want anyone to know their whereabouts, for he wanted to teach his disciples. He told them, “The Son of Man is about to be betrayed to some people who want nothing to do with God. They will murder him. Three days after his murder, he will rise, alive.” They didn’t know what he was talking about, but were afraid to ask him about it.” Mark 9: 32 the Message
Why they did not ask was their fear. Fears of death; life’s loss; betrayals and murder.
They did not ask.
In Mark 11: 23 – 26 Jesus teaches them how to ask,
“Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
‘…believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.’
Jesus teaches prayer as the way to expel demons and to speak to God. His ‘how to pray’ instructions are to ask big, fearful questions of God, of the spirit and Jesus himself.
Ask. Ask the fears away. Ask.
from Charles Ives, ‘the unanswered question’
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