The other morning when my 6 year old daughter woke up I could hear her wandering around the house. Eventually she made her way into the study where I was working and asked, “where’s mom?” Rhonda was out exercising and wouldn’t be back for a while. I said, “she’s out, what do you need baby?” “I want to talk to mom.” I’ve learned what that means. My daughter, Eliana, isn’t the only one to pull this phrase on me. When they don’t want to ask me it means they want to do (or eat) something that they think mom will give them a more favorable answer. So the conversation continues. “Mom’s not here, but I can help you.” “No, I want to ask mom.” “Why don’t you want to ask me?” “I don’t want to ask you because you always say ‘no’!”

I think often times many people have the same view of God. We’re not real quick to go to him with requests, or at least specific requests. Perhaps you’ve gone to the Lord with a specific request in the past, healing for a loved one or a sign to confirm (or deny) a decision you made or a situation to work out in a particular way, only to see no answer come your way. Your loved one doesn’t recover. No sign, one way or another, comes to help you make your decision. The situation you hoped would turn out one way turns out another. Consequently you grow reluctant to go the Lord with prayer requests, or you lose faith that your requests are heard. You may have even stopped praying specifically and turned your prayers into more general requests in hopes that this leaves God more room to answer and leaves less room for your faith to take a hit.

The truth is, God is not stingy, as we might wrongly interpret his non-answers just like I am not stingy when it comes to my kids. Most fathers love to give generously to their kids – to see them enjoy the richest of lives. When their answer is no, it is not because they are stingy, but often because they have something else in mind – something much better. If earthly fathers are this way toward their kids, how much more our heavenly father.

This passage speaks to the generosity, as opposed to the stinginess, of God, and invites us to pray specifically and with great expectations.