Did you know God likes to hear you pray?
Have you ever been misunderstood? When our youngest daughter, Emma, was three years old & I know she often felt misunderstood. She knew what she wanted but she didn’t always have the word for it, or at least the right word, or the ability to speak the right word the right way. And in our desperate attempts to understand her we were confused, she was frustrated & misunderstood.
I’m sure you’ve been there. Misunderstood. Frustrated. You meant one thing & people thought something else. We’ve all been there. Even God.
Maybe out of all of us He’s been misunderstood the most.
I wonder if some people picture God like Mr. Potter. Remember when George Bailey comes to Mr. Potter desperate, at the end of his rope, needing to borrow money?
Mr. Potter is this grumpy old man. He’s angry, irritated & annoyed. He has all the power & resources to help George Bailey. But he couldn’t be more unwilling. I get the impression sometimes that people picture God in the same light. Maybe they feel like they’ve been burned by God before. They needed Him & it appeared that He never came. They asked for His help & as far they can tell He never delivered. This is hard. How do we deal with the question of unanswered prayer?
What happens when God doesn’t answer. This is a bigger question than I have room to address here. I’ll write on on this specifically in an upcoming post. But we know suffering is part of the Christian life. Yes, even extreme suffering. Sometimes we pray when we’re in the middle of great difficulty & it seems that God doesn’t hear, isn’t listening & won’t answer our desperate cry for help. One look at the cross reminds us of the cruelty of this world & the reality of sin. One look at the cross & we remember that even Jesus felt far from God in that moment.
We live in a broken & at times extremely cruel world. This does not mean God is absent or doesn’t care. Again, one look at the cross reminds us God knows, God cares & God is present with us through whatever difficulty we may face. If you’re in the middle of a season of suffering & it seems God isn’t listening or answering your prayer, take heart. God isn’t annoyed with your asking. He loves to hear you pray. And He DOES hear you. He is present with you. Take heart. Your Father knows, He cares & He is present.
About prayer, Jesus told this story.
Luke 11:5-13
Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: “Suppose you went to a friend’s house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, ‘A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.’ And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can’t help you.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.
Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not for a moment suggesting that God is a genie in a bottle waiting to grant your every request. He’s not. But…
Jesus clearly teaches that God is our Father. He deeply cares for us. He deeply cares for you. He’s not far off. He’s not annoyed. He’s not hesitant to come to your aid. Remember Jesus’ next words…
“You fathers, if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”
God is your perfect Father. What is it you need from Him today?
Ask Him.
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