The Tooth Fairy and
Prayer Problems
By Carolyn Hulliberger
“You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Jeremiah 29:13 (NIV)
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.
