Q & A

Today, in my morning ritual, I was listening to some chapters of Numbers being read to me from my phone.  This one verse screamed at me to re-read and ponder it.  So, as I pondered it today, I also shared it on my facebook page.

God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? (Numbers 23:19 NLT)

To me, these are things that I believe and maybe haven't even thought about why I believe them or how I came to believe them.

As the day carried on, I received the following comment question in response:
If God doesn't change his mind, why do I see so many ask for prayer requests for God to do just that?

It's such a good question.  As I waited until I got home to respond, I got the opportunity to continue pondering those thoughts... on a whole new level than where I had taken it by myself.

My response, through my view of God and God's ways, is as follows.  I just thought I'd share in case you, too, had pondered this before... or in case you've never pondered it, and maybe this will allow you to dig deep within your belief system to find the hows and whys of what you believe.




To me, God is much like a very loving parent. As a child, I asked my parents for things. Some they would give me without asking (like mashed potatoes and peas and school clothes). Some they would give me right away after I asked for them (like water or usually food). Some they would give me when they knew the timing was right (like money). Some things they didn't give me no matter how many times I asked (like a pony). I feel like God is like that, only so much more.
 
God give us things and blessings without our asking. God wants us to humble ourselves and realize that things come from Him, and then ask. God wants to withhold things from us for a while until the timing is right. And sometimes God has to say "no" because it just isn't His will. We may never really truly understand it all. That's part of the awe of God being who God is - we cannot fathom His wisdom, grace, love and glory completely.