God Hears Us PraySýnishorn

The God Who Gives Good Things

Prayer is not formulaic. It's not an incantation that, if said correctly, will magically provide what we've summoned. But then there are statements like Matthew 7:7–12, where Jesus says that if we ask, we will receive. 

How does that work?

We can be sure that Jesus is not trying to give us a formula or a blank check. Instead, he is teaching us something about our relationship with God and the way he responds to our concerns.

Too often, we treat prayer like a karma-driven algorithm. We ask God for the things we really want, but we don't expect him to give us precisely that. Life has taught us not to expect a favorable answer. We never really believed that we deserved it, anyway. 

But that approach is at odds with Jesus' words here. Because prayer has nothing to do with our performance. It's not about karma. Prayer is about a relationship with God, who happens to be a loving father. Just as a loving father would not give his daughter a snake when she asks for a fish or a stone when she asks for bread, so our loving father will not try to trick, disappoint, or punish us in response to our requests. 

Why? 

Because he loves us. So he listens to our requests. 

If you've ever earnestly asked God for something good and instead received something devastating, you need to hear these words from Jesus. Prayer is relational. Your father loves you. Keep praying, because he cares about your wellbeing. He wants you to continue to draw near. It's not a formula that works exactly the same every time, it's a relationship. And your father's end goal is to bless you. Lean into that as you pray.