Thursday, August 6, 2015

The Tooth Fairy and Prayer Problems
By Carolyn Hulliberger

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Dear tooth fairy I have two huge favers. May I have a animal toy instead of dollars. And may I keep my tooth and still get a toy. If thats toatley not posbul I’d rather keep my tooth. Best of luck with your dilvers. (Child, Age 6)

While this honest letter to the Tooth Fairy is cute, I have to admit that sometimes my prayers to God sound a lot like it. One of my prayer problems is that I politely approach Him with my earnest request, already working out all the angles of how I would like to receive my desired outcome and suggestions on an alternative course of action. All the while, keeping my fingers crossed that God actually is listening in the first place.

How easily I can overlook that our God is the Creator of the universe, from the tiniest molecule to the vast galaxies above. Nothing is beyond His capabilities!

Other times, my prayer problem is the opposite…He is SO big, why would my situation matter to Him at all? That is wrong thinking, as well.

In The Message’s paraphrase of Matthew 7:7-11, Jesus says, “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?”

Unlike the Tooth Fairy, God is our Heavenly Father, caring intimately about our needs and want. He is the Creator who loves His created. Unlike that letter to the Tooth Fairy, we need to 1. be aware of how we bring our requests to God and 2. trust that He always cares. Jesus’ command to be direct and trust Him for what He does is good advice to put into practice.

GOING DEEPER:
1. This week, make the commitment to examine how your prayers to God sound. What changes do you need to make?
2. Change up your prayer time. If you normally pray silently, try praying out loud, or writing/typing out your prayer.

FURTHER READING:

Along with caring for her family, Carolyn works as an insurance representative, serves in Oakwood Church’s Student Ministries with an awesome group of junior high girls.