I Owe You One

Tell me something:  are you the kind of person who finds it easy to take things from another?  No, I don't mean "are you a thief?"  That would just be silly.  What I am asking is:  do you find it hard to take something from someone else when you are in need?  For instance, if you are going through a financial difficulty, can you easily ask another for a loan?  Or, when your sitter bails on you, do you feel confident in asking your neighbor to watch your little darling?  What about when you need a ride to the doctor for an appointment that is going to take hours:  is there someone you can ask to go this "extra mile" with you and not feel as though they will decline your cry?

Most of us don't like to ask for help.  Call it pride.  Call it selflessness for not wanting to put another out.  Call it independence for wanting to handle things on our own.  Whatever label you choose, the simple fact is we don't like to be indebted to anyone.  Right?  Come on, now.  You know this is true.  So much so that it often carries on over into our prayer lives.

We don't have much trouble asking the Lord for our daily bread, do we?  Or when we uplift prayers for those around us who are needing.  Yet...when it comes to asking things for ourselves, do you--like me--find yourself bartering with God?

Lord, if You will heal my husband, I promise I will be a better wife to him.

Father?  If You will heal me from this cancer, I'll never smoke another cigarette again.

God, if You will get me out of this debt, I'll start to tithe--or at least make a donation to a certain cause.

Often our exchanges go even deeper, as we try to get the Lord on our side, making vows to be in church every time the doors are open, to pray every hour on the hour, to visit the sick, to take care of the needy, to stop swearing, drinking, philandering, overeating, or whatever we can come up with to get on His good side.  No more football.  No more soap operas.  I'll only listen to gospel radio.  I won't go to the movies, to the bars, to the stores.  I'll stop gossiping.  My clothes won't be so provocative.  I'll only speak when spoken to.  I'll stop complaining, whining, and being ungrateful.  Lord, whatever it takes for You to fix this, I'll do it.  I swear!  And then you proceed to swear by your firstborn, on the Bible itself, or what have you.

Oh my cow, friends, we have got to stop this!  Last time I checked (which was just a minute ago), God didn't put stipulations on His blessings.  Oh sure, He wants us to live righteously and to put certain evils away.  He tells us in 2 Chronicles 7 that:

"If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place.…"

And, also remember when Jesus Himself told us in Matthew 11:

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls..."

But the gist of all this, friends, is that we have not because we ask not.  Let me let Brother James explain it better:

You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures.… 

Ask God, friends, for what it is you need.  Don't make Him promises you and I both know won't be fulfilled.  Just ask.  Do you need to beg?  Seriously?  Hmn.  I guess it depends on what you are wanting and just how capable you truly feel God is in being able to handle your request.  Those of us who grew up with earthly dads who were often stingy may feel we have to approach God this way while those who grew up as Daddy's girls may find they just have to sincerely bat their pretty little eyes at God and ask Him unwaveringly what it is that they need.  And those who range somewhere in between these two tangents?  Probably the best advice I could give is to--you've got it!--just ask.  Trust that God knows what we need, when we need it, or if we need something entirely different.  But until we go to Him, to Him friends, we just won't know, now will we?  Let's talk to Him now, shall we?

Dear Lord, the same Father I wrote about days ago Who loves to lavish His children, the same God Who delights in His kids, I come to You now with a plea.  No, scratch that, Father.  Not a plea but a request.  

Father?  I have this thing that has been bothering me for a while now.  It's been an aggravation to me and I tried to solve it on my own, with my methods, and with my interests put first.  But it kind of blew up in my face, and it created strife amongst those I love dearly.  So, yesterday, I made the decision to let it go, to let You handle it, and to take myself out of the equation.  For I see--as You so openly allowed me to when I take advantage of all of those lovely scriptures in Your Word--that this fight, this situation doesn't really concern me at all.  I am a tool, being used to be a stumblingstone.  You know that was not my intent, Lord, when I first began this quest of mine but like most things in life that I try to do without seeking Your approval first (yeah, I took for granted You were going to bless me in spite of me) it fell flat.  It also took a few down with it and now I am grieved in spirit and heart to have been a part of this.

I ask You now (and thanks for letting me come to You after the fact after I have messed up) to re-right the apple cart that I spilt.  Help me to save face as much as possible and mend fences where some of the boards were cracked.  Humble me and remind me that this lesson wasn't one I needed to relearn until I tried to do things in my own strength and power.  I was wrong.  I took my eyes off of You and placed them on me.  That's never a good idea, is it Lord?

Thank You for reconciliation and the opportunity to do better next time.  May my eyes focus on You and Your glory is my prayer for today.  In the name of Jesus I ask for it.  Amen.