God Does Not Hinder Us From Coming, Asking, and Seeking...

Hebrews 4:16

"Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

Matthew 7:7-12

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks the door will be opened.  'Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone?....'"

Matthew 19:14

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

God is, very thankfully, not like me.  I get annoyed by the persistence of my children.  The inopportune times that the baby decides to cry and need me, the constant "Mommy, can I _________" questions from my little boy, and both of their courage to continue their pursuit of my help and attention no matter how many times I say "no" or try to distract them.  I remember reading The Praying Life by Paul Miller and being struck by the reminder that a child's persistence is such a picture of the childlike heart God calls us to have.  Today I want to remember that.  I want to be more like my children.  I want to keep asking God for what I think I need, even if I'm completely wrong....because it's good for me to let my desires drive me to deeper communion and relationship with my Father and to always see Him as the Source.  And I want to be more like my Father, too.  I want to encourage my children to come to me, even if I have to tell my little boy "no" a million times for the same thing, I want to encourage him to keep coming to his source.  I don't want to find his childlike heart annoying...I want to let it's beauty teach me something and encourage me toward my Source.  I want my baby's cries to remind me of my need for total dependence on my Father and how he never tires of taking perfect care of me.  And when I fail many times today, I want to remember that Christ has already been and is always everything I am not.  I want my failures to drive me to the One who never fails.