The Ultimate Gift Giver

There's been a lot of discussion going on about prayer lately...specifically, whether we should pray in general for God's will to be done, or if we can be bold enough to ask Him for exactly what we want. I found another old writing of mine on this subject. I pray it will speak to you now as it spoke to me then (and still does).

We have a “rewards” box in our attic. When CJ’s done something wonderful, been on her best behavior for an extended period of time, or been more helpful than usual, she gets a treat from the box. There are also times that I give her something just because I love her to pieces. Whenever I see something I know she’ll like, my immediate impulse is to buy it for her. It’s a struggle to remember that she can’t have absolutely everything, no matter how much I want to give it to her.

I imagine God feels that way at times. He wants to give us everything we desire, but in His sovereignty He is able to see what we should not have – things that would ultimately harm us, either physically or spiritually. While we may not have every earthly thing we desire, Ephesians 1:3 assures us that God “has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ”. He has not withheld His blessings from us; in fact, we’re getting blessed in ways we can’t even conceive. All the good stuff He gives us while we are here is just a foreshadowing of things to come!

As much as I love to give CJ treats, there is one large gift that she doesn’t have yet because she hasn’t asked for it. I want to give it to her because all of her friends have one, but she has shown no interest in having it. God also longs to give us certain gifts, but we haven’t shown Him that we’re interested in having them. “You do not have, because you do not ask God.” (James 4:2). If we would believe God and have enough faith to ask Him, there’s no telling what He would rain down on us! Taken out of context, we might be tempted to think that James is telling us we’ll get everything we ask for. If we keep reading, we find clarification. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (v. 3).

God has shown me that it doesn’t matter how much I want something or how much He wants me to have it; if I’m not going to use that gift for His purposes and glory, He will not give it to me. This applies not only to the material, but also to the spiritual. I may pray for a particular spiritual gift, but if that gift would cause me to be proud or self-righteous, God will graciously say no. Though I may not be happy with Him, I am thankful that He loves me enough to save me from myself. Isn’t that what being a good parent is all about?