“But when you pray…”
~Jesus
Vending Machine Repairman
Have you ever put your folded up dollar bill in the vending machine with your eye on what it is you want?
After finally, sliding the crumpled bill back on forth on the side of the machine to re-establish a crispness that the mouth of the guardian of the snacks would accept, you punch B27. The cyclone arm spins to project your tasty delight to bottom the pit of sugar and carbs and then it happens.
The hanger.
Trapped on the edge staring you in the eye with temptation toward violence is the very thing you wanted. Dangling there. Hanging ever so slightly on the metal blockade keeping you from what you wanted. Now you are faced with decision to hip-check the machine like a hockey player trying to win a Stanley Cup or attempt to unhinge the sweet treat by sliding your arm into a vortex of terror where it may not come back attached to your shoulder.
This has often been my attitude of prayer – in need of a vending machine repairman and change in attitude.
I uncrinckle my journal, click my pen and deposit my two cents to Jesus and request his goodness in return. I put in my deposit simply in hopes of getting out of the Lord what I want. My prayer like has at times been less personal and more transactional. In seasons, I have turned the most important relationship a person can have into nothing more than a vending machine with a bag of bold, party blend Chex Mix.
Expectation is not bad.
The prayer of faith should have a level of expectation attached to it. That is what faith is. Share on XThe prayer of faith should have a level of expectation attached to it. That is what faith is. Faith is believing and hoping for what we cannot see. So when we pray, a faith that expects God to answer is not incorrect.
In fact Jesus brother wrote these words:
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.”
James 1:6-7 NIV
In fact, we SHOULD pray with faith that God desires to answer our prayer. We should believe God wants to heal. We should pray with faith that God does want to provide. We should pray with a belief that God not only will answer but desires to answer.
Check your heart.
It is not so much the what, as often as it is the why behind the what we pray for. Before you ask, ask why am I asking.
Jesus prayed this in the garden:
“He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.””
Matthew 26:42 NIV
If what you ask is simply about you and your desire and not for the glory and honor of God, then we may need to check your heart.
Ask your Father.
When I was a kid, I knew I was halfway to what I wanted when mom said “go ask you dad.” The unofficial percentages where 75% of the time we ended up at Showbiz Pizza when mom deflected to dad.
Sometimes a simple shift in how we see who God is changes how we ask. I realize this is as sticky as the syrup bottle at midnight on the table at IHOP. We all have different understandings of “father”. Some good, some terrible. Some as provider, some as absent. Some as ever present, caring and kind. Some as the worst nightmare.
While the lens of God the father is filtered by our earthly father, we have to put to bed what is not true. Jesus said of his Father this:
““Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!”
Matthew 7:9-11 NIV
He is your Father. He longs to give good gifts. The greatest gift an earthly father can give is snack mix compared to what your Heavenly Father longs to give.
More than a transaction.
Prayer is not me putting in my prayer and pulling out what I want. Prayer has to become my putting myself in a position to spend time with a father who loves me more than I can imagine. It has to become more than me getting what I want and me getting to know my Father. It is more than a business transaction, it is a intersection of two hearts.
