Pray for Vegetables, not Cookies

Almighty God, the fountain of all wisdom, you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask; through the worthiness of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (Proper 11 BCP 231)

From the point of view of a child, parents actions can be so confusing. Parents don't seem happy most of the time. They make children eat their veggies and do homework and chores and they seem to often be doing things they don't want to do. I remember as a child thinking that this was strange. I was told that you could do what you wanted when you were an adult, but none of the adults around me seemed to be doing what they wanted most of the time. 

These days, I feel I have the same relationship with God much of the time. As a child asks a parent for cookies and receives vegetables, I ask God for things I think will be good and God keeps giving me things I am not sure about. The Collect for this coming Sunday, helps us recognize this in our prayers: "you know our necessities before we ask and our ignorance in asking: Have compassion on our weakness, and mercifully give us those things which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our blindness we cannot ask." 

Children haven't learned yet what they really need in terms of nutrients and vitamins to live a healthy life, but their parents look out for them. I don't always know what I really need in order to live a good and godly life, but God looks out for me. In my blindness I may not be praying for the things I really need. Thank God, God knows what I really need! When I don't understand why my prayers are not answered the way I want, I have to lean on my trust that God is looking out for me and giving me the things I really need.