Friday 20th September
Read Matthew 7:9-12
“‘Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” (NIVUK)
The openness of the promise to respond to the persistent prayers of His people may be a source of doubt – it is so broad after all! Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater to counter this argument. He asks them to consider something with which most people are familiar – fatherhood.
The context of the clarification demands we consider ourselves the supplicants, the children, in the story. Yet Jesus cleverly makes us consider who it is we are approaching and radically redefines the relationship between us and God. God is no longer an aloof, unapproachable deity to be feared, indifferent to the minor needs of these annoying little people. God is approachable and engaged with our needs.
Even now when I read Jesus’ words I instinctively put myself in the place of the child, asking for something, and in that way grasp the point of Jesus’ words. Yet Jesus does not place His audience in the role of child, He places them in the role of father, in order to help them understand that God is not a grudging audience for our prayers. It is the logical, and radical, consequence of how he has just taught us to pray. ‘Abba Father’.
