What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? —Matthew 7:9
Notice that the presumption of this verse is that the petitioner is a son. When we ask things of God, and He doesn’t seem to answer, we often dive into analyzing why He doesn’t. Doesn’t He care? Doesn’t He know what I need? We need to consider if we are, in fact, acting as His good child.
Is our relationship right with spouse, children, and others? Are we a “good child” in those relationships?
Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want, while refusing to pay someone what I owe him? Have I been asking God for liberty while I am withholding it from someone who belongs to me? Have I refused to forgive someone, and have I been unkind to that person? Have I been living as God’s child among my relatives and friends?
I am a child of God only by being born again, and as His child I am good only as I “walk in the light” ( 1 John 1:7 ). For most of us, prayer simply becomes some trivial religious expression, a matter of mystical and emotional fellowship with God. We are all good at producing spiritual fog that blinds our sight. But if we will search out and examine the evidence, we will see very clearly what is wrong— a friendship, an unpaid debt, or an improper attitude. There is no use praying unless we are living as children of God. Then Jesus says, regarding His children, “Everyone who asks receives . . .” ( Matthew 7:8 ).
First be His child, then ask and be blessed.
Nick
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