"Mommy, I want a cookie," she bounces right back, obviously not hearing what I just said, or perhaps not wanting to accept my answer.
"Let's wait and have a cookie when we get to the zoo."
"Okay, Mommy, I want a cookie now too."
I don't think she got the idea, as she kept on asking for a cookie, every three seconds. I kept on telling her "not right now," or "at the zoo," or "later, okay." Still, "Mommy, can I have a cookie, please?"
She would not be deterred. She was determined. She was persistent.
I think she must have overheard the sermon last night. Our pastor is going through the book of Luke and last night we were in chapter 11. He told the story of the man who went to his neighbor's house in the middle of the night, asking for bread. The man kept on knocking and knocking and knocking, until his poor neighbor finally got fed up with him and answered the door, just to get the man to go away. The man went away happy, with his much-needed bread, and the groggy, frustrated, annoyed neighbor went back to sleep.
After his humorous rendition of the story, Pastor Michael reminded us that context is crucial when studying the Bible if we are to truly understand what Jesus is telling us through His parables. Just before telling this story, Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. He gave them what we now call, "The Lord's Prayer." One of the lines being, "Give us this day our daily bread." How fitting then that Jesus follows this up with a story about a man going to his neighbor in the middle of the night and knocking on his door until he gets the bread he so desperately needs from his neighbor. The point being that we too should be persistent. When we pray, we are to "keep on asking, keep on seeking, and keep on knocking" until our prayer is answered.
Pastor Michael also shared several other stories of persistent people.
First, there's the time when the widow went to the judge and kept on asking for justice. She didn't give up until the judge granted her request. This judge didn't fear God or care what people thought, but he eventually caved and gave this widow what she wanted, if only to get her off his back and have some peace and quiet.
There's also the Canaanite woman with a demon-possessed daughter who wouldn't take no for an answer. When she asked Jesus to heal her little girl, His response seems quite rude and certainly not politically correct, "I'm here for the Jews." She doesn't seem to have heard Him and replies, "Lord, help me!" Jesus, again, is downright mean, "It's not right to take the children's bread and toss it to the dogs." Still, the woman isn't phased and immediately asks Jesus again to heal her daughter, "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the master's table." Finally, Jesus seems to have a heart and commends the woman for her faith. AND, He heals her little girl.
Going back to the Old Testament, there's the time when Abraham had the audacity to ask God, not once, not twice, but three times not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. God agreed to Abraham's request and promised not to save these cities if He found just 10 righteous men.
I also thought of the time when Moses interceded on behalf of the Israelites, who had once again sinned. God was threatening to destroy them, but Moses (who himself had gotten fed up with the Israelites a time or two) stepped in and begged God not to kill off His chosen people. God heard Moses and did as he asked.
Okay, so God wants us to be persistent in our prayers.
Jesus had another point to make though. He wanted us to remember that God is good. He compared God the Father to earthly fathers, who would never give their children a snake if they asked for an egg, or a stone instead of bread. If sinful men are good to their children, then how much more so is our heavenly and perfect Father to us?!!!
Got it: God, who is good, hears and answers prayer.
This passage of Scripture and the principle taught in it couldn't be more fitting for our church family's present situation. As Pastor Michael has said many times before, "Where you are in life is where you are in Scripture." So, so, so true yet again! For the past week and a half we have been desperately crying out to God to heal Baby Samuel. We have fasted, we have cried, we have begged God to act on behalf of this precious little boy. We have asked and pleaded with others, around the world, to join us in our persistent prayers. And we have rejoiced and praised God for the works that He has done so far: Samuel has opened his eyes, he has moved his arms and legs, he has grasped someone's finger, he is eating his mommy's milk through a tube. Yet, the EEG still shows no sign of brain activity in Baby Samuel. So, we keep on praying. We will be persistent in our prayers. God is going to keep on hearing, "Heal Baby Samuel, please!" from the DC family and others everywhere. We will not give up.
I can't help but smile as I write this. Coralyn has evidently caught on to this concept a little too well. In the course of the past thirty minutes, we have conversations of the like:
"Mommy, I want a snack."
"When I'm done feeding Kellah I will get you something to eat."
"I want a granola bar."
"What did I just say? As soon as Kellah is done, I will get it for you."
"Mommy, I'm hungry. I want a granola bar."
And this continued for a good five minutes or more, but you get the idea...
"Mommy, I want a ball."
"Not right now, sweetie. I am working on the computer."
"I want a ball, Mommy."
"Just a second."
"Mommy, I want a ball, please."
"Okay, fine." I get up to get her the ping pong ball.
Kellah, too, has apparently realized that if you ask for something enough times, Mommy will more than likely give in to your demands. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to figure out exactly what the child needs/wants, as I have fed her multiple times in the past thirty minutes, held her, rocked her, put her in the swing, laid her on my lap, and various other things in attempts to soothe her tears.
As I was thinking about being persistent in prayer and parents giving in to their child's pleas, just to get them to be quiet, I realized that telling your child "yes" or letting them have their way isn't always good parenting. Sure, you might be embarrassed if your child throws a fit at Wal-Mart, repeatedly asking for a toy or candy or whatnot and then screaming when you don't grant them their request. Yes, you would rather just go the easy route and let them have whatever it is they so desperately want instead of dealing with a kicking, crying child. Saying yes is much easier, and results in much less gawking from other shoppers, than a dealing with an all out temper tantrum. You certainly don't want to be that parent...
But you also don't want to be the parent who raises a spoiled brat and thinks that if they yell, kick, scream, etc. they will get their way, every time.
Good parenting means that you don't always say yes to your kids. Good parenting means you tell them no, because you know what is best for them. Good parenting means your kids might not like you at times. Like this morning. I didn't let Coralyn have a cookie for breakfast, and she wasn't too happy about it. And I didn't let her have a cookie in the car, even though she asked another good 10-15 times on the way to the zoo, and she wasn't thrilled at all. I stuck to my guns and made her wait, like I had said, until we arrived at the zoo. Sure enough, as soon as we entered the gates, Coralyn asked once more, "Mommy, can I have a cookie, now?" I got the lunch box out and handed her a letter I cookie, just like she wanted.
How do I reconcile this with persistent prayer? Jesus coupled this concept of "keep on asking, seeking, and knocking" with the reminder that God is a good Father, better than an earthly father. And so, despite our consistent pleas for Him to heal Baby Samuel (or whatever else may be on our heart and mind at a particular time of life), He might say, "no, not right now," or, "later," or "wait a little bit," or something of the sort. And I won't like that. That's not what I wanted to hear. BUT, I have to accept it, and remember that God is good. He knows what is best for me and will do that, not whatever it is I want, no matter how many times I ask Him. He does this out of love, in the same way that I told Coralyn she couldn't have a cookie earlier this morning.
I don't know what God's will is in the case of Baby Samuel. But I do know what I, and countless others, want: for God to heal this precious baby boy. And so, I will do as Jesus said and keep on "asking, seeking, and knocking" on behalf of Baby Samuel. My voice may go hoarse, but I will continue to cry out, "Heal Baby Samuel, please!"
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