Think Big

Series: Life is Good

Scripture: Matthew 7:11

Oftentimes when I am focused on finishing a writing or drawing task I try to think about what is right in front of me. I try to eliminate distractions as much as possible.

My old schnoodle is pretty smart for an old dog. If there is something he needs he will come sit beside me and stare. If I am not paying attention to his needs he has a way of putting his paw on my leg.

If that doesn’t work he will lift his paw and scrape my leg and stare at me.

He is very persistent. He does not give up.

In his way he is asking me for something. We’ve been together for more than 16 years and he knows persistence pays off. If he continues to scrape my leg I will eventually realize what he needs and I will check his water and food bowl or realize it’s past time for him to go outside.

Eventually his persistence will pay off and I will stop what I’m doing long enough to figure out what he needs.

I have to admit when I am focused on finishing a task I am ultra focused on that task. I am not focused on him.

He is however persistent and he knows I will eventually stop long enough to think about what I need to get him.

In Matthew 7 Jesus is teaching to a large crowd of people. He is standing on a mountain and the words he said are commonly referred to as the ‘Sermon on the Mount. The crowd that had gathered was quite large.

In this portion of the sermon Jesus was teaching about prayer.

Jesus was teaching them to be persistent. He had just pointed out that God was a loving father, who wanted to give them good gifts.

He encouraged them to continue to knock and ask God for what they need. In Matthew 7:7 Jesus told them to be persistent. He encouraged them to continue to ask and not give up.

In Matthew 7:11 he took it a step further when he said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

In my lifetime I’ve spent a lot of time studying about prayer. I’ve been Director of Healing Prayer at a large church where we focused on healing prayer. Throughout my adult life prayer has been my focus. My major in college was communication and it makes sense to me that God would encourage me to focus on communicating with God.

This verse in Matthew reminds us that God is good.

Although those of us on earth are not yet perfect we still like to help others around us.

Back to my example of my dog…I do not want him to be thirsty. As he has aged he does drink a lot of water. That is not uncommon for older dogs. I do need to remember to check his water bowl frequently. When he paws at me I need to remember he is probably out of water.

Water is good for my old dog. He is not asking for koolaid (which would be bad for him).

If we need water and we ask God for water according to Matthew 7-11 God will provide what we need.

But if we are asking for Kool-Aid that contains a lot of sugar and we tend to be sugar intolerant, God will not give it because it will harm us.

God will not give us anything that will harm us or get us off track.

When I was younger, I struggled with what to ask. I learned I don’t need to struggle. God will protect us. We can ask for anything but if it will harm us, God will not provide it.

Do you see where I’m going with this? We can ask for anything but if it will harm us, God will say no.

I needed to learn to ask and let God be God.

I needed to trust that God will be God. I needed to accept that.

I also needed to accept if something I ask for will harm me, God will not give it to me.

Remember, God’s love is deeper and wider than we can begin to imagine.

We need to trust in and rely on God’s love.

Deborah/acrazyjourney.com