Children 2. - 6th Nov

At that time the disciples approached Jesus and said, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said, “I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. Matthew 18 1-5

I am in the middle of reading “Prayer – Does it make any difference?“ by Phillip Yancey. I am finding it very good. It is not formulaic in helping us with our difficulties in prayer, rather exploring our expectations and misconceptions, which I find a helpful approach.

Yancey suggests that one of the functions of prayer is getting our perspective right. He quotes theologian Daniel Hawk “The basic human problem is that everyone believes that there is a God and I am it”.

Yancey continues “We need a corrective, for me prayer offers that corrective…Most of what I am, my nationality, mother tongue, race looks, intelligence I had little or no control over…. I cannot affect the rotation of the planet or the gravitational forces that somehow keep our spinning galaxy in exquisite balance…..in the presence of God I gain a glimpse of my state in the universe, which exposes my smallness at the same time it reveals God’s greatness.
Jesus’ challenge to us is to give up our pride and self importance and become like children, reliant on their parent. He also taught his disciples to pray to Abba, father. As you come into his presence today, try and be conscious of your smallness and God’s greatness, and maybe you’ll be reminded why you need God as your Father.