Luke 11:11-12–“Which father among you would give a snake to your child if the child asked for a fish? If a child asked for an egg, what father would give the child a scorpion?”
A few weeks ago, I spoke about the story of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22. In this story, God calls out to Abraham and asks him to take his son Isaac and give him up as an offering to God. Abraham obeys–he travels with Isaac to the place God tells him, prepares Isaac as an offering, and is almost about to sacrifice Isaac. But at the very last second, God steps in and tells Abraham to stop. God provides a ram instead for Abraham to sacrifice.
One aspect of this story got me thinking, especially about listening prayer. It’s clear from the story that God didn’t want Isaac to be sacrificed that day. God’s intention was actually the exact opposite. God intended Isaac to be part of the promise he made to Abraham and Sarah to bless them and make them the ancestors of many nations (Genesis 17).
So if God didn’t want Isaac as an offering that day, what did God want? Verse 16-18 of Genesis 22 gives us a good idea. God wanted Abraham’s obedience and willingness. It was Abraham’s willingness to give up Isaac, and his willingness to be obedient to God, that released the amazing promises that came after.
I’ll be honest–sometimes, I get a little nervous doing listening prayer! Part of me wonders what kinds of things God is going to ask of me. Is God going to ask me to give up something, more than I can handle? Is obeying God going to cost me something precious? How hard is it going to be? These are honest questions!
I believe what God is saying in response to these questions is Luke 11:11-12. “Which father among you would give a snake to your child if the child asked for a fish? If a child asked for an egg, what father would give the child a scorpion?” In doing listening prayer, we’re asking for good things from our Father. We’re asking for guidance and wisdom in our decisions because we truly want to know what God’s will is, and we want to follow. And God is a good, good Father. When we ask God what his will is, he won’t give us a snake or a scorpion. He’ll give us his “good, pleasing and perfect will” (Romans 12:2).
In listening prayer, God is not purposely looking to take away the things that are precious to us. Like the story of Abraham and Isaac, I think more often than not God may not even want whatever it is we think we need to sacrifice. I think what God really wants is our willingness to listen, and be obedient. God doesn’t want to take what’s precious away from us for no reason. But God wants us to hold everything in our lives with open hands, and a willingness to give it up to God.
So when we do listening prayer, know that it is God’s pleasing and perfect will to give us good things. But like Abraham, in order for these blessings to flow, God desires our obedience and willingness. As we grow in maturity, may we also learn to hold everything in our lives with open hands and a willingness to give it up to God, knowing that he has every intention to bless us.