Jesus’ sermon on the mount abounds in direction for living the Christian life. This particular passage is often misappropriated to acquire our wants and desires. But Jesus was always guiding us toward kingdom living, setting our minds on substance of eternal value rather than the trappings of this world. As we set our mind on God’s will and purposes, our prayers begin to align with his will, and we learn to trust him all the more.
The second part of this passage makes me smile. Jesus points out how just as we love to give good things to our children, our Father loves to all the more. But as his sons and daughters, I believe sometimes we ask our Father for delectable desserts to fulfill us, while He knows what we need is more green vegetables in our lives! That’s a good Father!
In all of this, the truth is God loves to teach us and reveal more of himself to us. He tells us to ask, seek, knock. He never withholds without purpose. In areas where we may not understand why he’s not responding or why he answered a prayer in the manner he did – we can trust that he knows what we need far more than we do. How good it is to trust that our Father knows what is best for each of us.