By
Tony Nguyen
“What is it you want,
Mary? What do you want? You want the moon? Just say the word and I’ll throw a
lasso around it and pull it down. Hey. That’s a pretty good idea.
I’ll give you the moon, Mary.” - George Bailey, It’s a Wonderful
Life.
In a late night
conversation I had with some Greensboro and Winston Fellows, we talked about
prayer and desires. We considered there’s much to learn from children and
how they ask for things and what they ask for. Often around Christmas
time or birthdays, kids will get excited because they know they’ll
get presents and, in preparation, they make wish lists. Sometimes
what’s on those lists are outrageous. Among the typical asks such as
games, toys, and clothes, one will find the requests of dreamers: a pet
lion, a farm teeming with horses and chickens, or even the chance to meet your
favorite soccer player in the world, Lionel Messi! (if only.)
When most parents of
such kids hear those requests, I imagine a sense of whimsy and disappointment
falls on them because they’re probably thinking, “Man, my kid wants a lot
of awesome stuff but I clearly do not have the means to get them XYZ.”
I’m painting this
illustration to point out two truths that I believe will help inform
us in our prayer life
1.
Kids don’t know nor care
for the legal, financial, or social implications of getting a pet lion for
their birthday, all they know is Mommy and Daddy and that they pull through.
As one of my peers put it, “My young daughter wouldn’t ask me
to buy her a farm if she didn’t think I could do it.” Do we pray
with the understanding that the Lord God, our Father in Heaven, Abba,
Daddy does hear us and pulls through every time?
I hope we all take this to heart and feel it in our bones.
(Sidebar: I know this
picture leaves things unsaid about broken families, neglect between parent
and child, or even peers who neglect each other. There’s also much to say
about preventing our prayers from becoming shallow and idolatrous. My
point is that our prayers must begin with beholding who God is rightly.)
2.
If we do believe
God is our loving Father and that He pulls through, why don’t we “pray for the
moon” as my friend would say? Do we pray for reconciliation, peace, joy
beyond understanding, healing, or the desire to be obedient knowing that He is faithful
to answer?
This second point brings
to mind a deeper notion that I’m still meditating on: When we do pray in a
posture as I’m describing and the Lord answers, will we have eyes to see
and ears to hear? Will we want what He gives us? Will we want Him in
light of it? I believe that’s where much of our frustration comes from in
our walks with the Lord—when God is working in our lives and when he does
answer prayer, we think He’s giving us a stone when we ask for bread.
Vice-versa, we may be praying for stones, unintentionally, but God knows
we want bread. It’s like when my baby host brother is asking for
milk but doesn’t know how to say milk so it sounds like he’s asking for “cook”.
In that instance I know what he wants and I give him his bottle.
“If you abide in me, and
my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” -
John 15:7
Blessings,
TN
