The Sweetness of Supplication – Sunday, June 05, 1983
There is a great deal of satisfaction to be had from independence, and we all seek to be self-sustaining: to use our God-given talents for the purpose of earning our way in the world. But in our efforts to become independent, we must remind ourselves that we depend upon what we are given as much as upon what we earn. Life itself is a gift, and the sweetness of a gift is not that it is deserved, but that it is joyfully given and gratefully received.
Children seem implicitly to understand the importance of receiving, and of asking. That may be one of the reasons why Jesus said, “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.”1 Children understand their dependence, and they teach us by their innocence.
The joy children take in living teaches us the importance of life; the energy and enthusiasm with which a child lives teaches us how to grow; the openness and the unashamed asking of a child teaches us how dependent life is upon Him who gave it. And when a child receives what he innocently requests, we learn the sweetness of supplication.
Prayer is important not simply because it satisfies our needs—because we receive what we ask for—but because it develops and maintains a communion between Father and child; it teaches us our true relationship to our heavenly parent.
We depend upon our God, And whatever independence we achieve is in direct proportion to our recognizing that dependence, and to our supplication of God in prayer. Sweet is the hour of prayer when it springs from the soul of a loving child, a child who may be gray with years, but who recognizes that true independence is the gift of God, and that only through a supplication for God’s guidance can true independence be achieved.
1 New Testament, Mark 10:14
________________________________
June 05, 1983
Broadcast Number 2,807