August 27, 2000

The spiritual search

"What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" (Matthew- 7:9).

The illustration of prayer that our Lord used here is one of a good child who is asking for something good. We talk about prayer as if God hears us regardless of what our relationship is to him. (see Matthew 5:45). If you pray and do not get what you ask for, don't lose faith and give up. Before you say that it is not God's will to give you what you ask, search for the reason you have not received.

Do an intense search of your heart and actions and examine the evidence. Is your relationship right with your spouse, your children, and your brethren? Are you a "good child" in those relationships? Or you have to say to the Lord, "I have been irritable and cross, but I still want spiritual blessings"? You cannot receive and will have to do without them until you have the attitude of a "good child,"

We sometimes mistake defiance for devotion, arguing with God instead of surrendering. We refuse to look at the evidence that clearly indicates where we are wrong. Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want, while refusing to pay someone what I owe him? Have I refused to forgive someone, and have I been unkind to that person? Or have I been living as God's child among my relatives and friends? (see Matthew 7:12).

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" (I John 1: 7). For many of us, prayer simply becomes some trivial religious expression, a matter of mystical and emotional fellowship with God. We sometimes fail to see the truth about ourselves. But if we will search out and examine the evidence, we will often 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). -Edited-