When praying we need to assume God needs no convincing. While the widow asking for help provoked the judge, our asking pleases God. Asking is not a luxury, but a deep human need.
As a boy, and before Caller ID devices were invented, I used to call my mother while she was at work. After routinely asking the receptionist to transfer the call, I’d hear my mother talk through her impersonal “business-as-usual” voice that she would use to address the public. When she identified who I was, however, her voice filled with empathy, love and the warmth that I was always used to. I didn’t need any persuasive techniques for her to shift from impersonal to personal mode. The simple cue that she was addressing her son was enough to make the change. How important it is to feel this sense of belonging to God in prayer.
We need this kind of confidence when approaching Him, an almost “I-can-do-no-wrong” approach to Him. Nothing I can say or do can alienate me from Him. I feel safe and know that He will not use my defects against me.I know this kind of repose in God is rare. We are used to responding so much to conditional love that our asking is often full of justification, apology and rehearsing. When praying we need to assume God needs no convincing. We do not ask coldly or mechanically, but need to learn to pray knowing He loves us.
TR 2007
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