PRAY BECAUSE GOD IS GRACIOUS
Matthew 7:9-11
One of the greatest joys for a father, especially a grandfather, is to give his children good things. To see a radiant smile from your child because they appreciate your gracious gift encourages our hearts. How much more for the Father in heaven. Jesus uses this example to provide a basis for praying. We ask because our Heavenly Father is gracious.
We must reflect on God’s grace as we sit in our prayer closet. The devil desires that we fail to grasp God’s gracious essence. Life’s experiences which we pray about are often not good. Burdensome relationships we pray about are not always good. We intercede about a doctor’s prognosis because it is not good. But God is good. His nature inclines Him to give good gifts to His children. Thus, we pray for challenging trials we face, broken relationships requiring restoration, and bodily infirmities needing remedy. He invites us to draw near, to inquire, and to ask.
Consider Jesus using bread in His illustration to highlight the necessity of our praying. No good parent would mock his child who asks for bread, a daily necessity to sustain life, by giving him something worthless like a rock. Our heavenly Father knows what is essential to our lives and promises to supply those things. Remember His promise for the cure to anxiety over what to eat and what to wear in Matthew 6. Seek Him, His kingdom and His righteousness, and He will supply! We pray because our Heavenly Father is a gracious giver of what is essential.
Further, Jesus reminds us when a child asks for a fish, again a necessity of food, his father does not give him a snake, something harmful. No parent who loves his child will put them in danger’s way intentionally. Neither would our Heavenly Father. We pray and ask for good gifts because He is not inclined to give us what is worthless and what is harmful.
We should be more motivated to ask for God to supply every grace we need today as we face situations and circumstances that are not good. Our prayers are motivated by His goodness. We can ask, seek, and knock with complete confidence because we have tasted and seen that He is good. Do so this morning!
Pastor Chris Thompson