Beautiful Cycle

 Luke 11:1-13

Many of us have our own picture of God.  He takes the form of a grandfather to some and a tyrant to others.  He is seen as glorious and powerful to some, power-hungry and stern to some, and unbelievably gracious and selfless to others.  What is your picture of God?  Whatever it is, it most likely shapes the way you pray and the way you behave toward Him.  Fortunately, God has left us with descriptions and truths about what He is like and how He feels toward us in scripture.  If we would take the time to try to get to know Him, our prayers and our behavior toward Him may change overtime for the better.  Our relationship with Him, instead of being filled with guilt, may become more fulfilling and peaceful.  Our prayers - instead of being dull, boring, and uncomfortable - may become more passionate, intimate, and sustaining.  Let’s dive in and understand God a little better.

Luke 11:1      Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples."

Luke 11:2      And he said to them, "When you pray, say: "Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come.

Luke 11:3      Give us each day our daily bread,

Luke 11:4      and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation."

The Lord’s Prayer.  Nothing new here for many of us.  Our prayers should be God-exalting, God- glorifying, God-centered.  Even the statement, “Give us each day our daily bread,” has God in mind.  Look at another place we see this statement in scripture:

Pro 30:8-9      Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, "Who is the LORD?" or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.”

The idea here is that God will give us just enough for our day so that we may glorify Him with our lives. Not too much, not too little.

God has set up our relationship with Him to be cyclical.  God gives, and then we give back.  God blesses, and we bestow blessing, honor, and praise.  God restores and we praise.  God heals and we glorify.  God loves and we love back.  Do your prayers reflect this cycle? Does your life reflect this cycle?

How one-sided is your relationship with Him?  We tend to be in one of two places when we are out of whack with God.  We either believe that God is demanding, commanding, and taking, taking, taking.  We see no blessing from God, but only His impossible demands on our life to serve and obey.  Or on the other hand, we have no clue that we are giving nothing to God but the leftovers of our time.  If we are giving Him seven minutes of our day, it doesn’t appear that we are loving God with “all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.”

Again, what do your prayers look like? What does your behavior toward God look like? Is it a beautiful, cyclical relationship? Or is it unhealthily one-sided.
I love this next part because it really does highlight what our relationship with Him should look like.  This example reveals the heart of a person that knows the goodness of God over time and believes in the beauty of that relationship.

Luke 11:5      And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves,

Luke 11:6      for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him';

Luke 11:7      and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'?

Luke 11:8      I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

Luke 11:9      And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Luke 11:10      For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

Luke 11:11      What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent;

Luke 11:12      or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?

Luke 11:13      If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

I always thought this story was kind of odd.  Where is the cyclical relationship here?  Here, the friend in the house is God, and we are the friend knocking. What honors God here is the fact that the friend knew he could come to his friend in the middle of the night in his time of need.  He knew that his friend would come through.  The friend honors his wishes even though it isn’t deserved.
We can come to Christ for anything at any time.  We honor Him when we go to Him for help because we know that He is loving and kind.  We know that He is gracious and merciful.  We know that He always does exactly what He promises to do.  We know that He will come through no matter how crazy the circumstances - in the middle of the night, empty-handed, even when we have not honored Him or His wishes. God will answer.  Our boldness to ask and our faith in His provision honor Him.
Do you come to Him boldly?  Do you come to Him despite the circumstances?  Do you honor Him with your belief in His provision?  Do you honor Him with the belief in your relationship with Him?  Do you know His goodness well enough to run to Him with any burden?
In this crazy life we try to live alongside our Creator, may we come to know that God created our relationship to benefit both us and Him.  God gives and we give back.  Knowing His goodness, we give are faithful and we believe.  And He honors our boldness and faith.  It’s a beautiful cycle.

Thank God right now for your existence.    Thank Him for designing a beautiful and mutually beneficial relationship.   Then reach out and take an active role in your relationship with Him today.