Jack has developed a little habit that really needs to go.  The boy seems to think Laura and I are on a mission to starve him.  For the record, I totally understand that crying is a baby’s way of communicating.  I totally get that Jack prefers shouting to crying – fine, his prerogative.  What I don’t understand is why the shouting continues while he’s actually being fed.  There he is, strapped into his high chair, food in front of him, me feeding him and still shouting between bites!  In goes the applesauce and rice cereal, it’s happily swallowed and before I can get the next spoon to his mouth…a yelp.  It’s like he’s compelled to make sure I understand he’s still hungry, needs more and if I stop now, it will be bad news for all of us.

Let’s be clear – it’s not the volume that’s killing me.  It’s the lack of trust.  We’ve never not fed him!  Laura hasn’t slept through the night since the Super Bowl to make sure this little guy gets fed enough.  We’ve got enough food.  We love him.  Even with all that, he thinks I’m somehow going to hold out on him.  Maybe he’s afraid I’ll forget, ignore him or just cheap out.  I’m not sure but I’m pretty much offended whatever the case may be.

Of course, I tend to treat God the same way.

Matthew 6:8 tells us our Father “knows what you need before you ask him.”  Yet, I still think He’s going to come up short, not come through, forget what I need, hold out or leave me hanging.  If you watch your prayer life closely, I’m guessing you’ll notice the same thing.  We are way more focused on presenting our needs than resting in His love.

Yes, our Father wants us to bring our needs to Him.  But He wants us to do it confident of our standing in Jesus.  He wants us to come boldly to the throne of grace trusting in His character, His goodness and His love for us.  You might call this “gospel conscious praying.” In Christ, we aren’t orphans begging to be noticed.  We are beloved children of a limitlessly good Father in heaven.

Let’s start praying that way.