There are times when, if I am not careful, my prayers slip into The Asking Mode. In one form or another, I find myself saying, ‘Father please do this, and… Father please do that, and… Daddy if you would pretty please fix this big mess over here…
It isn’t that God doesn’t enjoy blessing and helping us. He does. In fact the Holy Bible says that He does:
“If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11)
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights…” (James 1:17)
But like any good parent, He understands that, in order for us to succeed inthis human walk and have a fulfilling life, we need to pepper our request with a good dose of gratitude. Nobody, not even God, likes to feel like their children have a gimme, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately attitude.
Pondering all of this makes me think of the time I took my 5 granddaughters to the Shakespeare Theatre downtown Chicago to see Beauty and the Beast. We were all dressed up and so excited to have front row seats. The tickets were very pricey, but we loved our granddaughters and wanted to treat them in this special way.
We bought them the special programs that were $7 a piece, and waded through the throngs so they could have their picture taken with the actors. The performance was magical, and my husband and I commented to each other that although it was a financial sacrifice, the joy our excursion brought our granddaughterswas well worth the $350it wascosting us.
We were all aglow, and almost giddy as we walked out the doors of the Shakespeare Theatre onto the Navy Pier boardwalk. The plan was to showour beloved granddaughters the huge Ferris Wheel that was there and get them an ice cream cone for the ride home.
And then it happened.
My granddaughters, whose ages ranged from 5 to 14, began to ask for everything that they saw.
“Gigi, can we have some peanuts?”
“Gigi, can we ride the Ferris Wheel?”
“Gigi, can I have money to do the remote control boats?”
Gigi… Gigi… Gigi… Can I.. Can I… Can I ….
And in one fail swoop, my glowing, generous heart that had just basked in the love and adoration of my precious granddaughters turned to anger and frustration.
“Noooo, you can’t ride the Ferris Wheel, that costs $6 a piece. And no, I’m not spending the money on the peanuts or the remote control boats. We were just walking across the pier to show you what it was like, and to get a .99 cent ice cream from McDonalds. Okay? We will do these things the next time we come down,” I said in a somewhat controlled tone.
But Gigi, I want… I need… why can’t I have… it’s not fair…
On and on they went until I was so appalled by theirasking for everything that we left without the ice cream cone and headed for home.
In hindsight, I realize that the kids were just being kids. They had had a wonderful time atthe playand did appreciate all we had done for them. When they stepped onto the boardwalk of Navy Pier, they were overcome with all the glitz and dazzle and slipped into The Asking Mode.
I have come to realize that the The Asking Mode is part of our base human nature. Wewant. We need. We crave. We long for.
We… we… we… me… me… me… my needs…my wants… my desires… my world… my family… my job… my health… my finances…and on and on it goes until, if we aren’t careful, our entire prayer time becomes about us and about those things that directly affect us.
Breaking The Asking Mode
So what do we do? How do we break this base part of ourselves?
What I have learned to do is, after repentance and praise, I start my request by praying for the farthest thing away from my world that I can. For example, missionaries or the families of the people who were murdered at the Charlie Hebdo Magazine or anything else that I can think of.
Then like reverse concentric circles, I start to pray for the next farthest thing from me, for example the President of the United States. On and on I go until, if there is still time left, I pray for my personal needs and those things that affect me.
By praying this way,slipping into The Asking Mode is occurring less and less. Still,I am ever aware of my human tendency to look to my Heavenly Father as a wish fulfiller instead of gracious and wise parent who needs to be appreciated.
What about you? Do you ever struggle with always asking God for things that benefit you? Let’s talk about it.