The Best of What's Around

I've been reading "Forgotten God," over the past 2 days and just got to the chapter entitled, "What Are You Afraid Of?" I've only been able to get through about half of this chapter, because my eyes have been a little heavy since I woke up early this morning. However, this first part has been heavy. Chan points out that some of us are fearful of things such as God not coming through, and even what if God does come through and answers our oh so courageous prayers. I mean, what if we ask for God to destroy our lives in order to glorify His name and He does just that? Heh...this is actually could be quite scary now that I start to jot this down.

I've been thinking to myself for the past 15 minutes or so about which camp I tend to hang out. I think more often I find it hard to pray, because I don't want to keep coming to the Lord with my woes and sufferings, because surely He has to be getting tired of my junk. Wow, even now I can see how completely human I have made my God. Over the course of the past 2 months I have been trying to wrap my mind around the fact that God does not love like we do. What I mean is that if one of my friends, whom I love dearly, decides to be a jerk one day, it is very possible for me to love them less. However, it is so clear in the scriptures that God's love for us is STEADFAST and EVERLASTING.

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
~Micah 7:18

And even when there are those in our lives that tear us down, we can rest assured that God's love for us never fails, and that He will always be there.

Romans 8:31-31
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

If God didn't love us with a STEADFAST love then the Son, the sacrifice, could have been withheld. But there was no resistance, no hesitation, God shows His EVERLASTING love by slaughtering the most perfect sacrifice for us. Even when we are at our worst, "When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you," (Psalm 73:21-22) He is still for us.

I often trick allow myself to be deceived into thinking that there is no way that God would want to hear my concerns. This is ignorant. In Matthew 7:7-11 and then again in Luke 11:9-13 we see what is commanded when it comes to asking the Father for things:

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

This is a command that is telling us to remain in faithful in prayer. The part of this that can be discouraging to so many believers is the part where it says "ask, and it will be given to you." What if what you are asking for is not given to you? This can surely make some a little gun shy when it comes to asking the Father for things. I would like to encourage, instead of discourage here, because often our prayers are answered with a simple "no." This is not a negative "no," rather we should be overjoyed because God's wisdom surpasses all human knowledge.
I hope that we can all get to a place where we ask the Father consistently for the desires of our heart, but ask in such a way that we are at peace when He tells us no.

Ask in humility, Seek the will of God, Knock with perseverance...