Yesterday my husband and I did some Christmas shopping together. Naturally,
in the local mall there was a roped-off section where many parents were
standing in line with their children, eagerly awaiting to see Santa Claus
- a very grieving sight for me...Why do I say that? Because little children
everywhere this time of year are being taught to bring their requests
to a man who can not satisfy them, though he promises to bring everything
they ask for! Think back on the sort of letters you may have written to
Santa Claus as a child... Is there any similarity today in the way you
approach the Lord in prayer? Given the opportunity to ask God "for whatever
you want", what sort of request would you expect from our human nature?
What can you request from God and be fairly certain that He will say yes
to? Is there anything you are reluctant to pray about?
Matthew 7:7-11, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find;
knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth;
and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him
a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more
shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask
him?"
As I was reading this portion of scripture, I was again reminded of the
simplicity of our God; of the easy terms the Lord has provided you and
I in which to communicate our heartfelt concerns to Him. Ladies, God cannot
give until man asks! "Ask - And it shall be given"... Have you ever really
thought about that concept?? That's how our God gets the spiritual ball
rolling with us, the way He has set it up. Those good things that are
missing in our lives appear only when GOD creates them... Only HE is capable
of satisfying all our desires and meeting our needs. However, the Lord
does not bring them into existence through any means other than by our
asking! How much more could you have if you simply asked God?? Our heavenly
Father honors our requests as we learn the necessity of prayer and the
importance of total dependency upon Him...
James 4:2, "Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot
obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not."
As you observe people out shopping during this Christmas season, buying
everything and anything that strikes their fancy or the fancy of a loved
one - you'd have to admit that we live as if we have everything within
our own grasp, with no sense of our need for the Lord at all! Many of
God's people lust after good things, long for good things, fight for good
things, work hard for good things, and still come up empty handed of real
joy. Every self-oriented method known to man is attempted. Yet, God's
method, the guaranteed method of satisfaction, is rarely utilized... Turn
to Him and ask!
John 16:24, "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall
receive, that your joy may be full."
Ladies, do you really think the Lord would encourage us to talk to Him
so freely if He weren't going to listen and help us?? How frequently would
you say you talk to the Lord about the condition of life you would like
to experience - a fulfilling, happy marriage, minimized financial stress,
godly character traits within your children, scriptural understanding,
salvation of loved ones etc. Not only are we to ask without apprehension,
we are to ask God for bread, that which is nutritious and good for us...
Luke 11:3, "Give us day by day our daily bread."
The fish that is also mentioned in our main text we know to be a high
source of protein, another healthy request. Certainly such matters of
prayer as the examples I mentioned fall under the category of "bread and
fish", rather than cake or cookies; something that is all sugar and of
no nutritional value. That's why the concept of Santa grieves me so, for
it instills in children an appetite for brief pleasure and not real joy.
Year after year young people are motivated by the world's philosophy to
live for the "desserts" in life, if you will, and are rarely challenged
to develop an appetite for the main course - the bread of life! I often
wonder why a Christian parent would mix the truth with a lie...Why would
a child care to turn to the Lord for bread when they have been taught
to believe that someone named Santa will bring them "dessert" if they
are good all year long?? One day they will find out he is not real...
Will they then doubt the reality of God? Will they always wonder if their
requests will be heard and answered of the Lord? What will they have learned
about the things they should really ask for in life?
Isaiah 55:2, "Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?
and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto
me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in
fatness."
Mother, Christmas is a good time to examine whether or not you are training
your children to bring their requests to the Lord... While you're at it,
examine your own heart too! By the way, ladies, asking is not demanding!
Asking supposes that the thing asked for is a favor - demanding implies
that it is a right. Watch those attitudes! How has your children's approach
to God been formed? Their expectations of Him? Has the Lord been reduced
to nothing more than a Santa Claus as far as they are concerned? If they
could ask for anything, what would it be? Are you creating in your children
an appetite for that which will afford them spiritual health?? Are you
building into them the philosophy of self-sufficiency, or are they beginning
to understand how much they truly need God? The Lord pays close attention
to all our askings - we should too!
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2001 Pamela A. Iannello
