Since the last time we talked, the grandson (8 year old Ashton) has had some more words of wisdom that I thought you might enjoy. He told my wife that he asks God to be a super hero every day. She sweetly informed him that he already was a super hero; that God gave him a special gift. He said, "Yes, I am good at creating things, singing, and I can dance . . . I just break it down on dancing!
It made me think, is there anything that I keep asking God for, that I already have? I have asked Him to help me overcome my own weaknesses many times in the past. Now, I realize that He already gave me complete freedom when I became His child. I just had to receive it. We are changed, not by trying harder, but by focusing our lives on Jesus. I know this may be a difficult concept to understand, because it does not fit into our religious paradigm. But, it is not difficult in practice to love Jesus, when you realize all that He is, and what He has done for you, and how much He loves you. It is not an inward focus on ourselves that transforms us, but an outward focus on Christ.
Mark 11:24 says, "All things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you." That is exactly what I am doing with my requests. I am thanking God for the answer, because I believe He has already given it. There may be "lag" time from the sending out of the answer to its delivery, according to God's purposes, and there may be faith steps that I must take. You might ask, how do I generate the kind of faith that can believe in an answer that has not come, yet? I think God makes it easy for you. He lets you take baby steps. When you first start your journey of faith, you might ask for something, and God will give you an answer that takes place that day or the next. Because of the circumstances, and because you know what you asked for, you can't help but see that it was God. It is like He is saying, "See, I can be trusted!" At least, that is what happened to us, the day after we asked each other the question that started this blog. God gave us a clear answer to prayer that was just what we needed at that time. But, it would be a mistake to think that is what God is going to do every time, since His purpose is to stretch our faith.
I can think of an example that may explain the idea that He has already given the answer, even though it has not been revealed. In the 1930's there was a group of Christians who gathered to pray at a farmer's house in North Carolina. They began to pray that God would raise up a great evangelist to reach the world for Christ. The farmer had a teenage son, who had no interest in the prayer meetings, did not know what they were praying, and thought they were a bunch of fanatics. But, about 15 years later, that teenager, whose name was Billy Graham, became an evangelist who would share the gospel with millions. It is obvious to me that God answered the request of the prayer group immediately, but, the revealing of the answer took 15 plus years.
I don't mean to sound hyper-spiritual by telling you that I am thanking God for the answer. I am just deciding to have faith. Isn't it true that we kind of hedge our bets? We hold back a little something in reserve, because we don't want to be hurt or embarrassed. Recently, I made a decision about those reservations. I decided, "What does it hurt me to believe?"
I think one more thing that is important, if you are walking this path, asking God for something that is on your heart, is to open your eyes and see the supernatural element in your life. Elisha the prophet prayed that God would open the eyes of his servant, and God opened the servant's eyes, so that he saw horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha (2 Kings 6). You don't necessarily have to see chariots of fire to know that God is working in your life. And by the way, as a child of God, it is not too much of a stretch to think of yourself as a super hero; at least a humble one, with a secret identity, who knows that it is God's power that is operating through them, and maybe has some mean dancing skills.