As young parent I was very nervous about how to deal with a new born, for our first baby seemed to be so tiny and helpless. Overtime I got used to holding, feeding, and changing her. As I have gotten older and more used to being around babies, I have grown in my enjoyment in holding infants and being around young children. Part of my wonderment came about after my late wife’s battle with brain tumors, and when I learned more about how marvelous our human bodies are and how they function, and partly because of the new life that newborns represent to God’s creation.
Something that also helped me with this was one time I read that a baby can feel when they are being held by someone who is nervous or afraid of dropping them. Thus, often when a stranger tries to hold a new born, the baby can sense the fear and begin to cry. But then if they are held by someone who is secure in holding them, there is less fear and the baby is not as prone to cry. In the same way God knows when we are timid or doubting with our prayers.
This passage lets us know that God wants us to have faith when we pray, never doubting that we are being heard. Our faith is in the fact that we trust God will always hear our prayers and is full of love and only wants the best for us. What happens from our prayers may not be what we want or expect, but our faith and trust are in God, and not our prayers or our own effects. Thus, we are to ask in faith, trusting that what comes will be from our God who only wants the best for us and therefore we can’t pray in doubt that we will not be heard at all!
Gracious Lord, help me to not be timid, afraid, or doubtful in my prayers to you, knowing that you always hear me, and that the Holy Spirit will help me and provide what I need for my spiritual pilgrimage! Amen. Vernon T.
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