(By Derrick)
Children, in their innocent and simple ways often leave deep imprints on our hearts with what they say and do. Our two and a half year old son Jeremiah is a ball of joy and can make you forget your most horrible day once you are in his company. We, as parents really love him and we can’t thank God enough for this wonderful gift.
Now Jeremiah, like any other kid of his age, loves chocolates. And he is ready to do anything for you if you can just give him his ‘chocki’.
Every time when I return home from work, the first thing I do as I step into the house is get down on my knees only to see little Jeremiah run into my arms as we hug each other and roll on the ground and play.
One evening I came home from work and was ready for my usual interaction with my son. I stooped down and was waiting for him to run into my arms. Jeremiah ran towards me, but all of a sudden he stopped about two feet from me, stretched forth his hand and said, “Dada, I want chocki.”
I was literally tongue tied and did not know how to react as I was eagerly waiting for him to come into my arms and enjoy the hug that we normally shared. I remember trying to tell Jeremiah all that I had was his and that I only needed his hug, but all my son wanted was his ‘chocki.’
Seeking the gift or the giver?
That’s when the Holy Spirit spoke to me. Isn’t this often what we do with our heavenly father?
Take for instance our prayer time. Our motive for praying is based on what we could get rather than what we could give. We seek his hands more than His heart. And if we, as earthly parents can sense the motives of our children and yearn for them to come to understanding of our love, how much more will our Heavenly Father?
Please don’t get me wrong, God wants you to ask and His Word says ask, seek, and knock but we must also understand that He knows everything we need before we even ask. In fact, He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ever ask, think or imagine!!
But…if only we would run after Him with our hearts motivated by selfless love.
Love Pulse Test
Let’s take a ‘love pulse test’ and see where our prayer life fits in after reviewing the below scenarios:
1. Do you constantly think of running into your prayer closet to spend quality time with your Heavenly Father?
2. Are you motivated only to pray when you seem to be in problem or need something from God that you cannot take care of?
3. Does the word ‘Prayer’ make you excited, if yes, how much time do you spend in your prayer closet worshipping, adoring and loving Him?
4. When was the last time you sat and gazed at his face and heard from Him instead of speaking all the time?
If we identify with any of the above scenarios, then we need to stop doing what we are doing and start running after His heart, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.”
God sees and weighs our heart (Proverbs 16:2). In order to enjoy a relationship with Him, we need to start loving and start giving. Isn’t that what Jesus did on the cross?
Like I tried telling my son, “Everything I have is yours including all the ‘chockis’ money can buy, all I needed was your love my son!”
Let’s run after His heart and eveything else will be added.
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