“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’” [Luke 17:7-10 NIV]
Photo by Jesper Noer
I found this passage to be a bit of a challenge this past week. Sometimes we’re taught that we can boldly claim answers to our prayers. And that is correct because the Word says ‘ask and you shall receive’. BUT, when I read the verses above, I realised that we need to watch our attitude when we do so.
If we come to the Lord with a heart full of pride and arrogance, I don’t think we can expect much. If we think that somehow we deserve His favour or His immediate response to our requests, we are starting on the wrong foot. If we list in our mind all the things we have done for Him and sacrificed for Him, like we should be repaid for such goodness, then we are dead wrong.
As the Scripture above says, we are His servants, we only do our duty and should not expect anything in return for our service. Indeed, He already gave His all when He sent His son to the cross on our behalf.
Photo by Felipe Daniel Reis
Rather, when we approach Him, it should be as a child to a loving parent. We know that because He loves us, He wants to bless us, and abundantly so. When we come to the Lord in THAT humility — not that we deserve, but just because we are loved — then yes, we can expect a loving response.
Just as Jesus said on another occasion: “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” [Matthew 7:9-11 NIV]
It’s all about the attitude!
Romancing The Rock 
I think you summed it up best with ‘He already gave His all.’ There’s so much in that great gift to keep us in gratitude and service. It IS all about the attitude. 🙂
I know! He did everything. But, it’s so easy to slip into the ‘I deserve’ frame of mind, isn’t it?
Our attitude means so much in how we deal with God. I was raised in a home where you did not get praised for just doing what you were told but only for going over and above what was asked. I thank God for my upbringing because this lesson was taught well that you cannot demand things from your master just for doing what your master says…our gifts only come out of the desire of the master for our good pleasure
Well put, Jed. I love that He desires to give us good gifts, even though we really don’t deserve anything. Thanks for dropping by. 🙂