OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN
“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?” Matthew 7:11
We know that we are not perfect parents, but still we try to give our children what is best for them. In the verses prior to this, Jesus said, “if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?” (7:9-10) The answer, of course, is obviously “no.” We would not give a child a stone to eat, nor would we give him a snake instead of a fish. We would not do these things because we love our children and want to care for them. We would not do something intentionally to harm them or put them in danger, because we love them.
Jesus uses this as a platform to teach us lessons about prayer. “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?” We are sinners, yet we will give what we consider to be gifts that are good for our children. How much more can our Father in Heaven be trusted to give us what we need and what is good for us. Have you ever heard someone express something like this, “Why would God answer my prayers? I am no one.” The answer is simple. It is because He is our Father, and we are His children. Are we perfect? No. Do we deserve God’s blessings or favor? No. But, nowhere does it say that God hears and answers our prayers on the basis of our deserving it. Rather, He hears us because He loves us and wants to do good things for His children.
Many Christians struggle to get a hold of this simple reality. God loves His children dearly. Our children can come to us when they need something because they have confidence that we love them and will help them in every way possible. We can likewise go to God with our needs because we are so sure of His perfect love. This is a vital part of prayer. God is our heavenly Father. He knows what we need even before we ask. Our confidence before Him is not based on our performance, but on our position in the family. There is nothing that He is not able to do. He wants us to come to Him and seek His face. We need to be so assured in His love that we will boldly approach His throne of grace that we might obtain grace and help in our time of need.