Praying Aright

I was visiting with our daughter Debbie, a couple of weeks ago, when her husband Tony walked in after a day of work, holding a small bag that caused the little boys great excitement. It contained a beautifully wrapped box, full of macarons, in a multitude of colors. And as the boys took their time choosing which one they wanted for a quick treat before supper, I heard Tony say, “Are you guys taking a bite out of each one?” I realized that was exactly what little Jax and Levi were doing – they were taking a little bite out of each macaron! 🙂 “Well,” said Debbie, “They’ve got to try a bit of everything to know which ones they like. Right boys?”

I was reminded of this incident during my quiet time a few days ago. One of my Bible reading portions for the day was Psalm 34, and the verse that jumped out at me was the first part of verse 8.

O taste and see that the Lord is good;

You know, life is filled with things that must be experienced to be understood. And taste is one of them. And the Psalmist (David) knew exactly what he was talking about when he wrote that verse. He had tasted and experienced the deliverance and goodness of the Lord over and over again, and in his young life had experienced that his God was good – both in the highs and the lows. Debbie was so right. Just as her little boys had to taste each macaron to understand that they all (even the darker colored ones) were good, each one of us has to experience the goodness of God on the mountain tops and in the valleys, for ourselves, too. But, it isn’t always easy when it comes to our children and life.  

I had agonized all through the past 10 days over my child who was very unwell. And the fact that she couldn’t eat anything throughout this time, broke my heart. I prayed without ceasing for her healing and took comfort in the fact that there were loved ones surrounding her with prayer too. But I so wanted God to spare her the pain and stress that illness brings.

So when I got a text two days ago that said, “Even though I haven’t gone to the doctor, I feel better and better every day, mum. I pray before I put anything in my mouth, and I give thanks for my body”, I rejoiced through tears.

O taste and see that the Lord is good;

When our children who started a new business just as COVID hit, had to go through the hardship of struggling to balance budgets and monthly bills, called to say that after a whole year they learned wonderful new truths about a God who provides for each and every need – small and big, I rejoiced through tears.

O taste and see that the Lord is good;

When a dearly loved niece who had two miscarriages, texted me through her sorrow to say, “I’ve been thinking more and more that God is using this experience to do a few things… namely to make me align my desires with His, and to remove certain desires of mine (the family I envisioned), from the throne on which Jesus belongs”, I rejoiced through tears.

O taste and see that the Lord is good;

So you see friends, it’s not only in the joys of graduations and birthdays and weddings and births that our children taste and see the goodness of the Lord. It’s in the trials too. We, as parents, just need to pray aright. In one of her books, *“Whispers of Hope ”, Beth Moore, the author and Bible teacher, when talking about prayer said, “We don’t always know what we’re asking. Then, as we pray, we must allow the great High Priest to overrule when our requests for those we love would cheat them of God’s best.”

Yes. I, as a parent, need to learn how to pray aright.

O taste and see that the Lord is good.

*Whispers of Hope (Journal Hardcover) by Beth Moore. Publisher : LifeWay Church Resources (June 15 1998)