The Gimmies
My kids are just around the ages where they like Beth and I to read the old Berenstain Bears books that came out when I was a kid. In each of the Berenstain Bears books, there is a usually some kind of problem, a solution, and a moral/life lesson that accompanies it. As we read these books to the kids, though, I’m often struck that the same lessons that were so prevalent in these books are still applicable today.
One of these books is titled, “The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies,” and is about how Brother and Sister Bear were in the store with their parents and see all sorts of things that they want their parents to get for them. Though Mama and Papa Bear have told them that they are at the store to pick up what is on their list, that doesn’t stop the kids from being lured in by all sorts of toys, candy, and even the mini carnival rides just outside of the store that they feel that they just have to have. But as the parents tell their kids no, the kids both throw a temper tantrum because they didn’t get what they wanted. When they get back home, Papa Bear says, “Brother and sister have the worst case of the galloping greedy gimmies I have ever seen.”
The “galloping greedy gimmies” sounds like such a childish thing, doesn’t it? And let’s face it, we have all seen kids do this at one time or another. Though we might look at our kids and be able to identify their shortcomings in this area, how often are we guilty of the same things in our prayer life? We want things and we ask our Father for them, but when we don’t get them, we throw a temper tantrum and get angry at God because we think He isn’t listening to us. Or even worse, we accuse God of not caring about us!
In the Ole Hallesby book I’ve been referencing called “Prayer,” Hallesby has a chapter called The Misuse of Prayer and he writes…
“As soon as we encounter Him, we immediately look upon Him as another means of gaining our own ends. Natural persons in their relation to God have this one purpose more or less in mind: How can I, in the best way, make use of God for my own personal advantage? How can I make Him serve me best now, in the future and throughout all eternity?”
Now, I’m sure that we all aren’t asking these questions blatantly, but if we’re honest, we know that this is part of what we think when we pray. We want what we want and we pray for what we want and ask God to give it to us. And that, in itself, is not wrong! God invites us to ask Him! But the problem comes when God doesn’t give what we ask of Him. Hallesby says, “And when God does not put Himself at [our] disposal immediately and answer [us], we are not only surprised, but disappointed and offended, deeply offended.” I have to admit, I stand convicted by this. Maybe you do, too. We all have a case of the gimmies at times!
One of the problems with prayer is that we forget what the purpose is. Yes, the Lord bids us to come and ask of Him. Yes, He has the power and the ability to answer every one of our prayers! Yes, God is good and giving and wants to bless His children! But these are not God’s primary motivations in answering prayer. Above all, the purpose of prayer is to glorify the name of God. It’s not about us; it’s about bringing glory to His Kingdom. In 1 John 4:14, John writes, “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.” Ultimately, God is working to accomplish His will to bring people to Christ so that they may find salvation in Him! And when God brings salvation, He alone receives the glory because He alone can change men’s hearts and bring them from death to life.
When we pray and when God doesn’t give us what we’re asking for, it doesn’t mean that He doesn’t care. It doesn’t mean that God isn’t powerful enough. It doesn’t mean that He doesn’t exist. It simply means that He has another way that He desires to bring glory to Himself! And instead of getting upset because He hasn’t satisfied our gimmies, we’re invited to look again to see where God is working so we can join Him in His incredible work of salvation!
In Christ,
Pastor Evan