Try it You’ll Like It

“And I(Jesus) will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” John 14:13

Food can be a contentious issue in a child/parent relationship. How many times does a parent attempt to coax a child to explore beyond their usual diet with the words, “Try it, you’ll like it.” In a similar way we can declare: To know Him is to love Him. Stop and read this statement again. Understand that there is no other logical conclusion possible. To truly know God causes our heart to love and adore Him. If we do not love Him then we do not really know Him!

Jesus teaches us that the fundamental principle of His love for us is reflected in the nature of prayer. In particular, that aspect of a father to child kind of relationship.  St John’s gospel contains the astounding principle, repeated seven times for reinforcement, that God desires to answer prayer – “ask and you will receive”. You see, prayer is invited so as to obtain a Kingdom oriented answer. God reveals Himself as an attentive and sensitive father who seeks to direct and coach the efforts of His children toward His greater good. All He requires is for us to consult Him and bring Him into the picture. It is in the discourse of prayer and its answer that the flow of love between the Father and His child can be experienced tangibly.

Also, we should see that prayer becomes the prime vocation for the believer in order to accomplish God’s program on earth. But like an Olympic athlete, this purpose is not accomplished without disciplined determination, training and practice. Yet, the simple child-like principle of asking and receiving is never lost in any stage of development. We can conclude that the secret to the spiritual life is to make yourself little and dependent like a child. The danger is to become big and independent.

The child asking and the Father giving belong to each other in the heavenly economy and most simply define prayer. It is humbling to admit that God must lead and we must become lesser. God is always greater. He is great but He is also perfectly good and this is so comforting.