Georgia is enduring a terrible drought, down to a few weeks of water reserves. Earlier this week, the governor of the state called a prayer meeting on the steps of the state capitol building. An atheist from Atlanta decried the governor's action saying, "It's make Georgians look stupid." From a purely secular viewpoint, a group of people standing on a government buildings steps, with eyes closed, addressing an unseen God, is absurd, isn't it? Yesterday, several friends of mine gathered and we, too, talked to the unseen Deity. We poured out our hearts, asking for healing, for guidance, for provision for our needs. We did so, not in an act of desperation, or as a last resort! We prayed with confidence. Do you?
Jesus says that Believers should pray confidently for this reason - "God is good!"
He says, "If your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? 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 good gifts to those who ask him." (Matthew 7:9-11, NLT) Do you believe that is true? The enemy of God argues against His goodness and has done so since the beginning of human history.
The Genesis story of Eve and Adam becoming sinful centers around the question of God's goodness! The Tempter implies that God is withholding something desirable from those He created! "The serpent told the Woman, "You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil." (Genesis 3:4-5, The Message) With variations on that theme, the deceiver works at getting you and me to doubt God's benevolence.
If we begin to believe that God is capricious, or uncaring, or remote, or cruel - our prayers become tentative or fearful; or they cease altogether! That is why we need to hear Jesus' words about God's goodness, again and again. "Your Heavenly Father will give good gifts to those who ask Him!" God's goodness, His ultimate love, forms the basis of holy confidence and frees us to pray earnestly, honestly, and from our heart - trusting Him to do what is best- for us in keeping with His eternal purposes.
We must accept what God's goodness means.
It does not mean He is nice like Grandpa! As a grandparent, I am not charged with training my grandsons like their father is. So, when they visit me, I can let some of the rules slide 'cause that what a Grandpa does. I put chocolate in their milk! I surreptitiously slide their peas onto my plate so they don't have to eat them. Their Dad has to discipline them and he is good to them by enforcing disciplines that will shape their character. God doesn't always give us chocolate milk, but He is still good! God's goodness does not mean that He always makes our lives easy, pleasant, or pain-free! "For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way." (Hebrews 12:10-11, NLT)
Do not misplace your confidence, when praying, in your own goodness. Many Believers do. When we think we have been good in a moral kind of way we begin to think that we have built up some credit with God. Subtly, the lie 'God, you owe me,' slips into our mind. When we start to think thoughts like - "I tithed and even gave generously above my tithe, so You should give me what I want." - we are no longer praying like beloved children of God. Instead, we have becoming dutiful servants, begging our case. Our true confidence in prayer focuses on His goodness, on the fact that even our entry into His Presence is an invitation of grace provided to us freely at His expense. The Word reminds us that it is "Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence." (Ephesians 3:12, NLT)
So, here's the word from the Word- "Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7, NLT) Pray and receive from the Lord what is truly good for you. God's invitation is -
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.
Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David." (Isaiah 55:1-3, NIV) Amen.
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