Sunday, July 24, 2016

Luke 11: 1-13

Matthew 13: 24-30

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples."
He said to them, "When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test."

And he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,'
and he says in reply from within,
'Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.'
I tell you,
if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

"And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?"

Why doesn’t God answer my prayers? This passage says, “Ask and you shall receive.” I’ve asked to win the lottery. I’ve asked that my illness be cured. I ask all of the time but God never comes through. God doesn’t answer my prayers. God has turned a deaf ear to me.

How many people have lost their faith because of the above sentiment? How many people feel abandon by God because he did not answer their prayers in the exact manner of their choosing on their timeframes?

Even the worst parent among us wouldn’t intentionally give their child something that would do them harm even if they ask for it. Likewise, our heavenly Father will not give us something that will do our salvation harm even if we ask for it. God answers every single prayer. Sometimes that answer is, “No.”  Sometimes that answer is, “Not now.” God will deny us nothing that we really need for our salvation.

So if God knows all our needs why do we have to ask him for anything? Shouldn’t we just trust that he will give us all that we need?

The one thing God respects above all else is our free will. He will not violate our free will. He respects our free will so much that he will even allow us to choose Hell if that is what we truly desire. We ask the Lord for what we need in order to give him permission to give us what we need. We then have to trust in him like small children to give us exactly what we need to obtain everlasting life, even if what we are given is pain and suffering.

To a child an immunization causes pain and suffering. Why would a loving parent ever allow this to happen? As a loving parent we know that the temporary hurt prevents lasting harm. The child looks at the immediate, small picture. As a parent we look at the whole picture. Remember this the next time you are suffering. As you concentrate on the immediate know that God sees the whole. Be grateful in your suffering knowing that your heavenly Father has only your welfare in mind.