The longer I walk and grow in my relationship with God, the more I am convinced God really, really loves answering our prayers. Jesus tells us in Matthew just how much God loves to give his children things they ask for:
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:7-11 ESV
I Love to Give Good Gifts
I have three kids. If one of my kids comes up to me and tells me they are hungry, which feels like it happens every minute of every day, and I give them a cup of dirt, they would look at me like I just lost my mind. Then they would likely tell me again that they are hungry. If I look at them and say, “Yeah, well I gave you something. Why are you being so ungrateful?” By this point I think they would become frustrated and mad! Of course I would never do such a thing. As a loving mother I would go help them find something to eat, or empower them to make food for themselves. I have an active relationship with my children; as a result we communicate with each other to express our needs and wants.
I am definitely not a perfect parent. The list of mistakes I’ve made over the years would be quite long. However, because I have built a unique relationship with each of my kids, we are free to be ourselves and make mistakes. I know they will make dumb decisions, and they know I will be there to help them clean up the mess. Likewise, they know I will make dumb mistakes, and I will ask for their forgiveness when needed. We are all gracious to each other and are quick to forgive and move on. The key is communicating to each other about everything, both the wins and the losses. Without communication and forgiveness, we wouldn’t have a relationship.
What is prayer?
Prayer is simply communicating with our Heavenly Father. He is a person. We spend time telling him what we want and need. We spend time listening to him tell us what he is like and what his desires are. Yes, God has desires just like we do. When we know what God desires, it becomes so much easier to make good decisions. In the passage in Matthew, Jesus tells us that our Heavenly Father will give us good gifts if we simply ask. How awesome is that?
Again, as a parent I desire to give my children good things. My son’s birthday is at the end of May. He is already telling me exactly what he wants for his birthday gift. He knows I love him and will be giving him a good gift for his birthday. There isn’t a moment of doubt that a gift will be given to him on his birthday. Just as I want to give my son exactly what he is asking for, God wants to give us exactly what we ask for too!
Why doesn’t God answer some prayers?
What if my son, who is turning 13, asked for the keys to the car for his birthday? Would I give him the keys so he can drive my car and possibly kill himself or someone else? Absolutely not! I know he isn’t ready to drive a car, even if he is certain he can do it. It’s not that I want to tell him no because I have the power to do so. It’s not even that I want him to be upset that he didn’t get what he thinks he really wants. I won’t say yes to that gift because I am older and can see consequences better than he can. Many times when God tells us no to a request, it might just be because he is infinitely older and wiser than we are. He can see the consequences of saying yes to us. It’s his desire to lovingly protect us and others from our ill fated requests.
My Daughter and the Dolphin
In my experience God says yes more times than we give him credit for. A few weeks ago we went to Port Aransas, Texas. Near the ferry crossing is a bay where dolphins go to eat. It’s such a beautiful sight watching them come up for air, and even leap out of the water from time to time. One night the dolphins were swimming right in front of where we were standing. My oldest daughter loves dolphins and kept leaping from place to place trying her best to see one up close. It seemed that each time the dolphin would come up farther away from her. She would run over where it leapt only to have another one come up on the other side farther away from her. As we stood there I silently said, “Lord, she really loves dolphins. Could you please have one come up in front of her?” About 10 seconds later a dolphin came up for air directly in front of her. It made me so happy to see her squeal with joy at seeing one of her favorite animals up close. I then thanked God for a quick answer and told her what just happened. See, God is a good father who loves to give good gifts to his children.
Another Birthday
Last weekend was Brett’s birthday. We have been saving up to buy him a new car for awhile. I started looking around on websites for a car for him, not really thinking we could swing the price of the car he wanted just yet. One day early last week I told God, “God, it would be cool to give Brett a new car for his birthday. Would you show me what car to get for him? He wants a black Dodge Charger with leather seats. I want one with low miles and in our budget.”
Right after that prayer I went to the Carvana website and found a 2018 black Dodge Charger with black leather seats and low miles. I looked at the price and at first I thought it was too much for us. Then I started looking at exactly what we had saved and where the deficit could come from. All of a sudden the price I could spend right then for a car exceeded the amount of the car. Needless to say, Brett got his car for his birthday. Our Heavenly Father loves to give us good gifts. Our job is to ask him for what we want and then let him show us the answer.
It’s About a Relationship
Remember, God desires a relationship with you. He loves to spend time with you and talk to you. He loves to hear what is on your mind, and what you want both now and in the future. Just like we want our kids to talk to us and tell us about their day and future dreams, so our Heavenly Father wants the same kind of relationship with us! Life is about developing our relationship with God and learning to talk to him and hear his voice. Now, go spend some time talking to your Father!
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