March 24, 2023 – Luke 18:1-17

There are so many things in this world that can just wear us out. We work long hours, or maybe we can’t find a job. We run around trying to do so much but seem to fall further behind. Maybe we made a commitment that we are not keeping very well. Maybe there is something going on in our life that is unfair, hurtful or scary.

And we think we are right with God so why aren’t things changing? Why are we where we are at all? I mean, we go to church, we tithe, we pray, we read the Bible, we do all the right things and yet things just seem to not get better. So maybe we give up on our faith. Maybe we don’t believe we deserve God's favor.

It is a funny thing, this relationship with God. People sometimes believe we can earn our way into God's favor and when we don’t see results, we jump into a place of blaming God that he isn’t keeping up his end of the relationship. What I have learned in my walk with God is that he is way more interested in the condition of my heart and my faith than I ever knew he was. He wants a relationship with me. An unconditional, pure love kind of relationship. If my heart is full of expectations that are not his will for my life, I will be disappointed.

The relationship I have found to be the most fulfilling is the free-flowing open relationship with God. If I approach God with pure faith, without expectation, knowing that it is by his mercy that I can even have a conversation in prayer with him, I know he listens. He knows the condition of my heart, and he knows how to provide what I need more than I even know what I need. I can trust that and I can celebrate that. No matter what is going on in my life, God loves me and hears my prayers. Don’t give up. Keep praying. He hears your prayers too. Believe it. Receive it. No expectations, but instead, complete relational love.

Questions for reflection:

  1. When was a time you felt that God wasn’t listening to your prayers, only to find out he really was?
  2. How do you feel about God wanting a relationship with you just as you are?
  3. When was a time you felt childlike in your faith?