As a child, I can remember asking my mom’s permission before visiting a friend, staying after school, or other childlike quests. Many times she would reply with, “Ask your father.” Oh, how I hated that answer. It’s not that my Dad was cruel it was that he was seldom home and when he was home, he (more often than not) would say, “No” to my request. Many times I wouldn’t even ask based on his previous answer to the same question. In my opinion, he was being unreasonable and unfair.

It wasn’t until I was much older I realized that Dad was simply watching out for my best interests. He saw something bigger than the moment. In his delicate attempt to protect his little girl, he ended up risking it all by being the bad guy.

The same is true with my childlike prayer life. I’m not talking about my prayer life as a child; I’m talking about my prayer life before I became a Christian. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always had God in my life and I’ve always known about Jesus but we had an awkward relationship – or perhaps a better description is distant relationship. I kept my distance from Him and in return He kept His distance from me…or so I thought.

Prayer was something I dreaded. It was like going to my dad for permission.

“Dear God, please change my daddy's mind about the chocolate chip cookie.”
"Dear God, if You have a minute, can You make my daddy increase my allowance?”
“Dear God, I know You’re busy but please have mom answer my questions instead of sending me to my dad.”
"Dear God, I know my daddy's sick, please make him well."

I didn’t want to go to Him in prayer because I was scared of His answer. I feared God’s answers like I feared my dad’s. What was I thinking?

The Bible tells us that God answers our prayers – all of them. What I didn’t understand is that sometimes God answers prayer with, “No!” or “Not right now.” Like a good parent He knows what’s best for His children, even though we don’t always understand why. He sees something bigger than the moment…He sees our entire life and makes His decision based on what His plan is for each one of us. He loves us too much to let us have our own way all the time. 

Well, like my dad and my heavenly Father, there were many times in my own children’s lives when I found myself giving the same “No!” answer and I remember the same little eyes of wonder peering back at me as if to say, “Why?” It was in those moments I realized that it was much more important to protect and nurture my children than to forgo the positive answer to their plea.

And unlike our heavenly Father we don’t have the comfort of knowing what our children are doing when they are out of our eyes view. But how wonderful it is to know that we can trust our heavenly Father to protect and guide them at all times.

We can trust that God has all the answers before we ask the questions. He has the power to answer every prayer and He can do far more than we could ever ask if we simply move aside and trust in Him for every “No” or “Not right now” answer in our lives.

Written by the Holy Spirit through Brenda Bates – June 2006
(In loving memory of Leonard Eugene Schreiber - June 17, 1930 - May 17, 1973)

Words to Ponder:
Don't worry that children never listen to you. Worry that they are always watching you.
-Robert Fulghum

Scripture:
Jesus said, “My Father will give you anything you ask for in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask, and you will receive what you ask for.”
John 16:23-24

When I pray, you answer me; You encourage me by giving me the strength I need.
Psalm 138:3

Prayer to the Father:
Heavenly Father, precious Jesus, and ever present Holy Spirit I love You. Thank you for the special people You've placed on earth to care for Your children and call them dad, daddy, papa, and friend. You give them strength and wisdom to teach what is right and what is wrong. You give them a stern voice so it is known when they are serious and a soft soothing voice for comfort. You give them strong hands to hold us tightly in their protective care and give them knowledge to make the right choices for us. And Father God, thank You for being the most loving Father of all. Thank You for sifting through my prayers over the years and knowing when it's best to answer my prayer with "No" or "Not right now." I look back now knowing that You are a Daddy of love, protection, guidance, and fairness. You want what's best for Your children and would rather watch us cry or pout than to give in to our every request. Thank You God for Jesus and thank You for the most incredible sacrifice of all...the Cross. Abba, thank You for giving me a new earthly dad to love and thank You for all the dads who help and guide us in this life in order to prepare us for the next. In Jesus name I will forever pray. Amen

Personal Thoughts:
Can you imagine the mess we would make of our lives if God always answered each of our prayer requests when and how we ask? The thought scares me. My daughter-in-law's favorite movie is "Bruce Almighty" and after listening to her sales pitch over and over, I gave in and watched it. Much to my surprise the message was spectacular. I'm not a Jim Carey fan but I would recommend the movie to others. It's entertaining, fun, and touches on the topic of all prayers being answered with "Yes!" Thanks Joan for your perseverance!

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