Closed Mouths Don’t Get Fed: The Power of Asking
Happy New Year, Everyone!!! I have been ruminating about how to drop something motivational for the people this new year because we need all the ginger we can get, but tbh I am not that type of person. Besides, it is January, and everyone is talking about smashing your goals and setting your goals and all that good stuff.
In 2021 the word for myself and everyone around me is ask; ask for what you want; ask for personal space from people if you need it. God is very particular about us asking even though he knows our needs. He said, keep asking, and you will receive what you ask for you. This bible verse and many others speak to me a lot and has led me in all my dealings in life.
What prompted this post is the testimony of one of my favorite colleagues who just left the country to study abroad on a scholarship (I miss her already, but it is a habit for me to be excited for my friends when good stuff happens for them especially when I have been involved the entire process from the start.
You see, I ask God for seemingly weird things like an easy means of transportation when I am running late, such as bikes for my trip, or a free ride by a good Samaritan when I need to get to work at the early hours of the morning. I also ask for more complex things like directions in my career or a revelation and a glimpse of things to come.
I remember how she got the Ph.D. admission with a tuition fee waiver and we were so excited but we wanted more and we decided to take the plunge and ask the school if they could offer monthly stipends. A few weeks later she got a reply and after careful consideration, she was offered monthly stipends, in addition to the tuition fee waiver, all because she asked in faith.
Her testimony was God’s cue to me, and all of us who constantly live in fear of rejection. So as a messenger of the Most High I am telling you to shoot your shot and ask because closed mouths don’t get fed.
I also remember when I got a new job immediately after I resigned from the previous one. God knows I really needed rest from my former office and from Lagos wahala, but I was so scared of asking HR to give me some time to rest. In the spirit of asking, I asked for a change in my date of resumption so I could resume at a later date. Even though it came with a little salary slash it was a little price to pay for extra time to chill.
This post is your timely reminder to ask, for what you need, to basically shoot your shot, apply for that job, ask for that raise or promotion, ask for help when you need it. If only you could send that mail, ask for that funding, ask for that scholarship, ask for that relationship/ friendship.
More importantly, be happy for others when good things happen to them. It means that God is in your neighborhood, and the same God is rich towards us all. Plus you don’t know people’s sacrifices, so don’t envy their results.
I hope this motivates you to speak up when needed and ask for what you deserve in 2021.
Happy New Year.
Welcome to the Level Up Year.