Jesus said,
"Give us this day
our daily bread."
Matthew 6:11
"Daddy, I'm hungry. Can I have some cake?"
Does a loving parent ever mind their child, stumbling out of bed in their jammies and asking for breakfast?
Of course not.
And neither does our loving Father in heaven mind us asking for daily bread!
Some people think it's selfish to pray for their own personal needs. This petition shows us that it's not.
The purpose of prayer isn't to get stuff -- like daily bread or a slice of cake. A good parent sometimes says, "no," and feeds us instead with something nutritious that we really need. (Though occasionally fathers surprise us with cake and joy too.)
But say with me again, "the purpose of prayer isn't to get stuff!" So what is the purpose of prayer? Communication! Relationship! Even though I might say "no" or answer my child's request with oatmeal rather than cake, I want my little ones to pour out every longing (and hope and dream and worry and fear) to me. It's not about the stuff! It's about the conversation. It's growing a relationship of openness and trust.
Yes, a good parent will often say no and chastise and discipline ... but a good parent also loves, laughs, rejoices, plays, celebrates, encourages, teaches, protects, provides, bandages wounds, bakes birthday cakes, shows us spectacular wonders, and cries with us at disappointments.
Some people are so willful or afraid that in order to risk a disciplining no, they never get to experience the Father's yes.
Others have been lied to, thinking it's selfish to ask for themselves ... and they too never get to experience the relationship of a Father who learns to say yes!
In Christ's Love,
a guy who often snuck cake
to his boys for breakfast
(Sorry Mary Louise.
You’re welcome,
Paul, Jay, and Rob)
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