Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! – Matt 7:9-11 (ESV)
We often wonder about this passage. The question about these verses usually goes something like, “Why isn’t God giving me the things I ask for?” First of all, the child is asking the father for basic needs (bread and fish) and many of the things we ask for are gifts that would not be good for us. The things we often want merely reflect values of a prosperous people, not values of the people of God. Second, we hate to wait. We loathe it. We can’t drive slowly, we can’t eat slowly, if we order something, we want it within the week! The good father doesn’t give his child food every single time the child asks; there are set times in a day when the child should eat. Our heavenly Father waits for the best time to answer our requests and often times gives us gifts that are far better than the things we ask for in the first place. So keep asking.
