The Son of man has come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” (Luke 7:35).
I have been thinking about prayer over the last few days. There are so many times in my life where I have prayed for something desperately, and still I did not receive the answer to my prayers.
And there are times – after praying for some thing very important to me – when I feel so sad and dejected that it did not go the way that I wished, that I simply cannot go on and I simply cannot keep myself positive and happy about things.
And it is this dejection after prayer that has really stayed in my mind…
And it reminds me of Christ’s criticism of the Pharisees, because it seems that when I pray I have a picture in my mind of how things should be and how things should look and howe things should feel. And in fact, what really happens is that I see either John the Baptist or the Son of Man, and in both cases, that is not matching the picture in my head…
“To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the market place and calling to one another, ‘We piped to you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine; and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of man has come eating and drinking; and you say, ‘Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.” (Luke 7:31-35).
And I have been reflecting on that today because it seems to me that all this time is wasted asking for this and asking for that and EXPECTING a result.
Instead, what I really should be doing is asking for the things that I want with an open heart. And by this I mean, that though I am asking my Lord and God for all that I desire, I should be aware that HE ALREADY KNOWS WHAT I NEED AND IS ALREADY DOING IT FOR ME…
And when I think about that today, it occurs to me that it all boils down to a bit of trust.
You see, if I trusted God – really trusted God – then I would not get all caught up in the result that I can see. Instead, I would be focused on the conversation itself.
When my little niece was sick several years ago now, and I asked others to pray with me for her, I firmly believed (and continue to believe) that God was not testing my faith, He was enjoying it. He was (and still is) happy to hear from me. He was (and still is) happy to understand where I am in my life and what I wish to share with Him. And just like I know that my child is hungry or tired without being told, so too does God. And just as I love to hear my child tell me that they are hungry and tired so that I can speak to them and give them comfort (even if they cannot sleep or eat right in that moment), so too does God.
And I have been thinking about that today as I have been thinking about prayer…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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