Matthew 7:11 - If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father
which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
I have heard people say that they would call themselves
blessed if God never answered another prayer or did another thing for them
because he has been so good. While I understand the sentiment is some ways, I
believe the thought to be rather misguided. Many times people say this when
they are going through a trial and the answer to their prayers has not come
quick enough. Whether consciously or subconsciously the person voicing this
thought is trying to make sense of the fact that a certain prayer has not been
answered. The only logical understanding of such a thing is to conclude that
God knows best and owes me nothing.
But is this thought Biblical? Can I really say that God has
given me so much that I don’t have a right to ask him for anything else? While
I realize that God is sovereign, I do not believe such a position fits with God’s
nature or within the framework of Biblical teaching. Allow me to explain. I am
God’s child and he has promised to be a father to me. Being a father comes with
certain obligations and responsibilities. While earthly fathers can and do disappoint
and/or neglect their children, God is much bigger than that. He is the ultimate,
perfect father who never goes back on his word and always keeps his promises.
I would like to pose a question to you? If an earthly father
fed his children one day and did not feed them the next could he be called a
good father? Certainly not! In fact, he would be guilty of neglect for starving
his children. An earthly parent has a responsibly to provide for his or her
children’s needs each and every single day. Can we expect any less of the
gracious God of heaven who has promised to be a father to all those who put
their trust in him (John 1:12)! After all, it was Jesus who asked how an evil
(imperfect) man could be expected to provide for his children and God not do
even more.
Many times people will say that God owes them nothing when a
certain prayer has not been answered. In my experience, this usually centers on
the illness or death of a loved one. Because we know that God can (and often
does) heal people we can become disappointed when a loved one is not healed. I
believe I have seen Christians disheartened over what they consider to be an
untimely death more over than anything else I can name. We know that there are
scriptures on divine healing in the Bible (Isaiah 53, James 5:14). Yet not
everyone is healed when they are prayed for. Although difficult to accept, this
should not surprise us because the scripture is also replete with promises that
every human being will eventually die (Hebrews 9:27). While we might like it to
be otherwise, God does not promise to heal everyone.
There are some things that God does promise, however.
·
The scripture is replete with promises that God
will never forsake the righteous (Psalm 37:25).
·
God promises
to be a friend to the friendless, the father, the downtrodden, and anyone else
in need (Psalm 68:5).
·
God promises to give direction to those who
earnestly seek him (Psalm 32:8, Psalm 30:21, Proverbs 3: 5-6).
·
God promises to reveal himself to those who seek
him (Deut 4:29, Jeremiah 29:13).
·
God promises to feed, clothe, and care for those
who trust in him (Luke 12:22-31).
·
God promises peace of mind and spirit to his children
(Colossians 3:15, Galatians 5:22).
·
God promises to give us wisdom when we ask
without scolding us for asking (James 1:5).
These are just a few of the many promises that God has given
to us unequivocally in his word. He will not go back on these promises because
they are set in his word and his word is forever settled in heaven (Psalm
119:89). When God makes a promise, he does not break it.
One final promise that God makes is that we can come boldly
to his throne to find grace and help when we are in need (Hebrews 4:16). God’s
invitation for us to approach him with our requests and needs is open-ended.
Like any good parent he may thankfully discard the foolish requests that we
make. Yet He never gets tired of us coming to him and we cannot wear out our
welcome.
This post is not a permission slip to have an entitlement
mentality. I understand that our God is the Lord of the universe and we must
approach him humbly and with reverence. Perhaps a healthy dose of fear would
even be appropriate. Yet we should not come to him afraid that he will be tired
of hearing from us. Nor should we adapt the attitude that we have no right to
ask for anything since he has been so good to us in the past. His word has
given us the right to present our needs to him continually. God gets no glory
out of his children doing without the things that they need. Rather he delights
in continually providing for and sustaining us. Like any good father, he would
not think of feeding us one day and neglecting us the next.
I believe God wants his children to live with a confidence
and boldness that he will provide for 100% of our needs 100% of the time. This
does not mean we will always receive what we want. It does mean we can trust
God to supply what he knows we need. This understanding is something of far
greater value than having a God who is like a genie in a bottle. I am content
in the fact that God knows my needs and invites me to bring them to him so that
he can provide for me as he thinks best. He is the perfect father and will
never let me down.
Sincerely,
Spanish Pastor Jones
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