In this passage we are shown the importance of asking in prayer, but there is another important principle that we need to draw out of verse 11. If we being evil – or corrupted by our sinful nature – can give good things to our children, how much more will a Holy God give to His children. The Bible tells us that if we trust in Jesus as Savior, we are born into God’s kingdom. We then have the right to become a child of God:

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

Romans 5:10 tells us that before our faith in Christ, we were enemies with God but now we have become a child of God. We are treated as a favored child and are no longer separated from Him. As a child, we are heirs to God’s promises. Sometimes we choose to live as a child of the flesh instead of a child of the Spirit and in doing so we estrange ourselves from God. We choose what house we will live in. We can live in the promise or we can live under the curse. Jesus did not come to condemn the world but He came because the world was already under condemnation and He paid our debt with His blood.

Often we forget that we are children and we are not on a quest to earn God’s approval. One thing I can relate from my own past is how I twisted God’s character into my own realm of thinking. I reversed the roles. Instead of looking at God as the good giver of gifts, in my unbelief I made Him an evil tyrant that surely would not do what is right for me. ‘If you being evil can give good gifts, how much more will your Father in heaven?’ We often turn it around to where we think God is the evil one and we only know what is good for us. If there is one thing that has made a difference in my life it is learning to trust God. When I don’t trust God what I am really saying is ‘God, you don’t know what is best for me and I don’t believe you are out for my good. I do and I know what is best for my own life’. I can’t see my life ten minutes from now. People’s lives can be redirected in an instant without any prior warning. Even though I can’t foresee my next breath, I think often think that my wisdom exceeds God’s and I think the path I want to take is better than the path God has designed for me. When I think about how foolish this thinking is, I am amazed at the patience of God.

David wrote in the Psalms about looking at the majesty of heaven and seeing the expanse that God has created. He asked why the Creator of this entire universe would take note of man. He marveled at the fact that God took care to direct our lives. I can look at the stars and stand amazed, but what amazes me more is what David never saw. I stand amazed when I gaze downward at what was previously invisible. When I study the smallest elements known to man I am amazed. How God created the building blocks of life in such amazing and perfect detail. I am amazed at how the bodies of even the simplest living organism is made up of hundreds of thousands of interdependent parts, perfectly assembled. Each cell contains enough detail that millions of pages can hardly record it. Each cell and each function in nature is an amazing combination of specialized proteins that resemble microscopic machinery. Each protein is linked together with amino acids. Each acid is specially designed to only fit its designed counterpart. Assembled like jigsaw puzzles, they become the building blocks of life. Each amino acid is held together by atoms which cling together to form a solid mass in which all materials become usable. Even the atoms are carefully designed. There are more than 100 different types of atoms. Atoms are made up of smaller particles and we may never know what goes beyond this depth.

The reason I gave this brief summary is because I stand amazed at the planned detail of God. If God has carefully pieced together every micron of His creation with such precision, detail and harmony, how much more can we trust Him with our lives? We struggle through our everyday lives without being aware of the path God has designed for us. Because we don’t trust Him, we never see Romans 8:28 lived in our lives – "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose."

God knows you down to every fiber of your being. The Bible tells us that even the hairs on your head are numbered. The Bible also tells us that we are knit together in the womb. You are designed in precise detail and your life is planned down to every breath. But unlike creation which acts according to God’s programmed instincts and reactions, you and I have a choice. God lays before us the option to choose. Following our natural tendencies takes no effort. Trusting God takes a purposed decision. To make no decision is to choose not to trust. Any dead fish can float downstream, but it takes life to go against the current. Christ is what gives us life. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me – Philippians 4:13.

It takes trust to follow God. God does not show the path because the path is not our focus, He is. The world will show its goods. Worldly pleasure is like a Saturday morning commercial. As a kid, I watched a lot of cartoons. The commercial breaks always showed this amazing toy surrounded by a bunch of exciting kids. They were filled with such joy and the toy fulfilled their deepest longing. I had to have it so I could get what those kids had. If I were persistent enough, usually out of grief, my parents would relent. It would be a birthday or Christmas present. Excitedly I tore open the box and removed my prize. Thirty minutes later it was in the closet never to be enjoyed again. What happened? Why was this pinnacle of joy such a flop when I got it in my life? Because the excitement was false. Those kids in the commercial didn’t have fun either but coached by those who wanted to sell the toy. What gift was sacrificed so that I could get a useless toy?

That is like the world’s path. Up front you see the excitement, the joy, parties and everything that promises such fulfillment. But it is all a lie. Satan gives all he has up front. Beyond the commercial, there is no fulfillment. That is why for so many years I would excitedly pursue my desires but when I gratified the desire, there was no fulfillment. There is a big difference between gratification and satisfaction. Sin may gratify. My desire can be gratified but that does not mean I will be satisfied. I can hit the saturation point and stop desiring, but without satisfaction, I am empty inside. God does not offer instant gratification. What God does offer is satisfaction and fulfillment.

When we trust God and follow Him with all our heart, He will not allow us to not be satisfied, and He will always fulfill our lives. It is hard for people to choose God’s direction because there are no exciting commercials. God simply gives us promises without visual aides. God promised Abraham a land that He would show at a later date. Abraham believed the promise, but God was his focus. Abraham followed God, not the promise. That is what God calls us to do. We are asked to deny ourselves and follow. Our promise is that when we loose our lives, in Christ we will find it. What is God going to give you if you obey? "I am your exceedingly great reward" – Genesis 15:1. Trusting God requires faith. I don’t know what God has planned, but I do know that it doesn’t matter. If God is my affection, then my motives will be right and I am promised satisfaction and fulfillment. Look at Psalm 36:7-8

7 How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8 They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.

I have two kids. Nothing gives me greater pleasure than seeing their delighted faces. If I delight in showing kindness to my kids, how much more does God delight in showing kindness to me? I am the only limitation to what God can do for me. On occasion I will have someone tell me that God just doesn’t work. When I dig beneath the surface, we quickly see that God has not been tried. Religious activities do not make a relationship with God. At times they can be a distraction. Churches play a key role in the biblical plan of Christianity but experiencing God is more than going to church. If we don’t have a Christ-centered lifestyle, God won’t work. If we can’t give God everything, we aren’t giving God anything. You can’t have one foot in God’s will and one foot going the opposite direction. Either we are walking with God, or we are not. Either we are trusting God to fulfill our desires, or we are taking His role upon ourselves. We can gratify, but only He can satisfy.

The benefit of trusting God never ends. When we trust Him, we have peace, protection, direction, blessing, comfort, God’s loving kindness, and every promise He has given.

Philippians 4:6-7 says,

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

When we know that we are in God’s will, we can confidently thank God for all things in our lives and make our requests knowing that God desires to give us His best. Only we trust God with our lifestyle can we fulfill the command to give thanks in everything and to count our various trials as joy (James 1:2).

At times life throws us many curves. In Christ, we know assuredly that God uses these to bring benefits or positive change in our lives. When we walk in God’s plan, we won’t bring about self-inflicted troubles. There will be times of trouble, but we know God uses these. Even my finances belong to God. The money is His so whether it comes or goes does not matter to me. But when the unexpected hits, I can confidently bring it before the Lord. I affirm that my finance are His and I am dependent on His provision as well. I believe God allows tough times into our lives to test our faith and see if we trust Him. He has always met my needs. If I get angry at God, then I miss the good He was trying to bring in my life. When I get angry that tells me that the money was more important than God or my desire is more important than His will.

We live in a fallen world. Troubles come to everyone, but only those born into God’s family have the promise that God uses these for our benefit. Look at Jeremiah 17:7-8

7 "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not know when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

This past summer was one of the worst droughts that I can remember. I walked in the woods in August and the trees were bare and the ground covered with leaves. It was a depressing sight. I walked down by the river and these trees did not know there was a drought. Not only were they surviving, but also were lush, green and thriving.

That is the picture this verse is conveying. When God is our hope and we really trust Him, we will not see the bad but will focus on the good He has for us.

God protects those who trust in Him.

Psalm 31
19 Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
20 You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion
From the strife of tongues.

Psalm 27
27:5 For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

Psalm 125:1
Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

When we put our trust in God, He will show us His path for our life and guide us continually. Look at Proverbs 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Only in Christ do we have these promises. The Bible is careful to instruct us that all roads do not lead to the same God. There is only one God and one way to God.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Romans 14:10 For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. 11 For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God."

2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Only through Jesus Christ do we have salvation and a relationship with God. Through Christ we have the promise of 1 John 3:1

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.