Receiving Good Things From A Good Father. By Pastor Fernando

Scripture:
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
Matthew 7:11

Observation:
Jesus boldly declares that God is good and willing to bring the best blessings in our lives. He is the best Father and He will always provide the very best for those who are His children. This passage comes between a request and a warning. First, the request is summarized in verses 7 and 8. Jesus reminds us to ask, seek and knock in order to receive, find, and open. These results do not come by default. They are the product of a consistent, spirit minded prayer life. Second, the warning is evident in the verses that follow. Jesus is very clear revealing that fruitfulness is the proof of our relationship with God. Without such fruit, there is no relationship with God.

In this passage, Jesus discloses how to receive the good gifts from the Lord. We must ask, seek and knock for the good things of God. This is more than asking for a better job, or for a cute spouse, or for a raise, or for a bigger house and a nicer car. These requests are centered in the will of God and are focused in becoming fruitful developing a godly character. When we pray for our spiritual fruit to come forth, we can be assured that God is fully committed to respond to those prayers because He is a good Father that gives what is good to those who ask Him. If we don’t receive what is good, is because we either ask for the wrong things, or we don’t ask at all.

Application:
One of the statements I hear the most against the existence of God is that “if God is real and good, why we allows the world to suffer?” They argument is based in the concept that if the world is in chaos therefore God is either unable to fix it, or completely disinterested in it, or unreal. Those who ascribe to such statements relate the condition of the world as a reflection of what happens in the personal lives. They suffer and prayers do not take their pain away. If God hears, then he doesn’t care because He does not fix what is wrong.

Even among believers there is a mistaken view about the way God answers our prayers. We pray for good things but they don’t happen. We quickly assume that the reason for denial is either our lack of faith, or hidden sin somewhere. The light of Jesus comes into this common situation revealing that even if God doesn’t give me what I want for me, God will continue being the best Father. When we pray seeking the kingdom of God in our hearts and the evident fruit of our relationship with Him, God will always hear that kind of prayer. He is always ready to give good gifts to us, His children. Our problem is that we are either impatient to trust the best timing to receive the gift, or that we do not ask, seek, and knock the way God wants us to.

There are some areas in my life where the fruit of the spirit is not evident. I’ve prayed for strength in times of weakness and for self-control in times of trials. These are good prayers according to the will of God, but for some reason I fell and hit the ground hard, as if God didn’t care. Is at this times that we need to trust in the goodness of God. I must change my mind and be completely sure that God has given my the good gifts I request and that if I fail is not because God’s lack of attention, but because my sinful nature. In moments like this I need to remember that His grace is enough. I cannot give up in my prayers for the spiritual growth and maturity of my soul and of those who are under my care. I must continue asking, seeking, and knocking until I find the good gifts that God has reserved for me.

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, please increase my awareness of praying according to your will. Please help me to trust more in your goodness and to be more consistent in my prayer life. Grant me the desires of my heart that relate with fruitfulness in character. Please let your Holy Spirit take control over my mind and my heart when it comes to the issues I struggle often and that destroy the fruit of my relationship with You. Please give me more victories in the areas of weakness. Let your my love for you become evident by the way I live for you. Don’t let me be slaved to sin and give me the freedom and determination to do your will above anything else. Today I receive all the good that you have for me. AMEN!