I don’t know if you read the cartoons online or in a daily newspaper, but I do. A recent one: “Dennis The Menace” had neighbor Mister Wilson telling Dennis that he asked a lot of questions. To which Dennis replied that he was a “Multi-Asker.” That got me thinking a bit. My mind went immediately to the concept of “Multi-Tasking.” So we have those who claim to be multi-taskers and those of us who would like to learn how to be multi-askers.
Now a few comments on each of these:
Multi-Tasker:
Most everything I’ve read on this points to the fact that trying to multi-task is not a good idea—going even further it’s not even possible and actually hurts our productivity and effectiveness. People may think that they are doing several things at the same time, but in actuality they are simply switching from one task to another and loosing momentum along the way. Better to be a “Single-Tasker.” Finish that one thing you’re working on and then move on to the next, as opposed to bouncing from one thing to the next believing you’re getting more done—you’re not!
Multi-Asker:
I’d like to think there are two parts to Multi-Asking:
With our people.
As leaders, we eventually understand that many times the key is not having the right answers, but learning how to ask the right questions. This gets others involved and gives them the chance to have weigh-in and buy-in which results in shared ownership and increases morale and motivation on any team (or family) context. I guess the older you get as a leader, the more you think you should have all the answers and people would be more than happy to sit back and have you pontificate from the well of your incredible wisdom accumulated over all the years.
In our prayer life.
When we’re praying and asking the Lord for different things… asking Him to do things for us, doing things in us and doing things through us we do well to ask constantly and ask big
Jesus says this in regards to prayer: “Keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7 NLT
Keep constantly at it.
When we come to the Father in prayer we come to one who is infinite in power, love and wisdom and wants to respond to His children. Years ago J.B. Phillips (an Englishman) wrote a book titled, “Your God is Too Small.” I was deeply impacted reading this book and realized that I was praying too small and not believing God and asking Him for what seemed very big and highly questionable from a human perspective. We should ask BIG!
We all know the hymn “Amazing Grace,” written by John Newton; but he also wrote another one called, “Thou Art Coming To a King.”
Here are a few lines from that hymn:
My sense is that many Christians in general and leaders in particular are not asking too much, but asking too little. Our God is too small!!!
“God can do anything you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams” Ephesians 3:20 The Message.
These days I’m going BIG. Asking for the unlikely, the unusual, the impossible the improbable…wild crazy things—why not?
I want to grow in being a “Multi-Asker.” Both asking constantly and asking big.
Want to join me?
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