I’ve heard over and over and over that God is not like a big vending machine that we can go up to, pop our prayers in the coinbox and expect to pull a lever for D9 to get what we want. Well, of course He isn’t! He’s the Creator of the Universe! How can I expect to command His attention for my petty little desires … like a bicycle, or money to pay my bills, or health for my family. Who am I to expect God to answer my prayers?
And here is the biggest problem I face. It’s easy to see God as a Divine Judge and nothing more. We see Him sitting on a justice’s bench with a stern face and judgment in His hands. He’s ready to say ‘no’ because we haven’t measured up to some unknown tally. If we get to a certain point in our ‘goodness’, it might tip the scales and He MIGHT say ‘yes’ rather than ‘no’. If we read our Bible every day, or work at the church, or do something nice for a person in need, or donate enough money, or … on and on, we might earn the right to receive a ‘yes’ from God. And if we get a ‘no’, that just means we work harder the next time. And sometimes when someone else gets a ‘yes’ and we’re still getting a ‘no’, we try to change our habits of prayer to match theirs. They obviously have a better relationship with God, so He is meeting their pleas and not ours.
It is hard to admit that this is the way we see God, because when it’s said out loud, it sounds insane.
I grew up in a household with two other siblings. I was the oldest and then Carol and then my brother Jim. We always needed and wanted things as we were growing up. Mom and Dad didn’t set an arbitrary standard for each of us to achieve something before we could receive the blessings that they handed to us. Because we were their children, we received good meals and clothing, we received an education and Christmas presents and family vacations. We received love and support and chance after chance to try and fail at things until we found things that we loved. We received guidance and advice, we received pets and friends and entertainment, exploration. The list goes on and on. But we didn’t have to do anything to receive these things from our parents. Because they loved us and because we were their children, we received these things from them.
“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 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?" (Matthew 7:9-11)
It’s hard for us to consider God as more than how we know or knew our parents. Because He is God and He created us, He wants to bless us, He wants to give us everything that we need. So, how do we get to that point from here?
I’m going to go a little further with the metaphor of my parents vs. God (oh, they’d love this)! We don’t get everything that we think we want, because sometimes we don’t know what’s good for us. Oh, this makes sense, but we forget to apply it to God. We think we know what is best for our own lives – much like we did when we were children. Do you remember? And if you can’t remember all the way back to your own childhood, think about the things that you refused to give to your children because you knew that it wouldn’t be good for them.
Like the night that mom told me not to go out riding around (that was our fun in rural Iowa) with friends. Well, it was snowing a lot that night and we were shooting snowdrifts in my Subaru and got ourselves good and stuck. The evening went by, it got later and later and I knew that Mom was going to be furious! We finally got hold of a friend with a truck and chains who pulled us out. I was IN TROUBLE by the time I got home. I had insisted on my own way and it wasn’t a good outcome.
Last year we had to close Insty-Prints. We had run out of money. I prayed and prayed and prayed for God to bring us more customers, to get our many non-paying customers off of their butts to pay us for services rendered. Oh, I prayed a lot about that place. But, God knew that it was time for me to be done. He did NOT answer my prayers, but He met my needs. He knew much better than I did what was good for me.
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