I didn’t get an allowance when I was in high school and any kind of paying work was few and far between. My parents expected me to come to them when I needed money for lunch money, class rings, yearbooks, books, gas money, dates, or anything. Instead of being thankful that they wanted to give me good gifts like this, I resented having to ask. Instead of being thankful that I had parents who were employed and loved me, I insulted them by not making my desires known to them. In too many ways, I shut them out of my life by thinking they were too poor or too “narrow” to meet my needs. And I cheated both my folks and myself—even though they rather heroically pulled my fat out of the fire on several occasions.
Now, a lot of people have the same problem with prayer. They think it demeans them and makes them less noble or less truly human to ask God for something. They think that God intends for them to handle it themselves and end up shutting God out of their lives—cheating both God and themselves instead of building a relationship. And, they rationalize their unwillingness to pray to God with the most feeble excuses: God has more important things to do; God wants us to handle the little things; or That’s too small for God to deal with. I have known people who thought I was being idolatrous to ask for God’s guidance in buying a house or a car. They thought that was too small, too insignificant for God to care about. Gee, here I thought my God created and sustains even sub-atomic particles. If God is involved with the Periodic Table of the Elements, I think God can be involved in my daily life. God may not be a Cubs fan (indeed, history would show us that He most assuredly is not), but that doesn’t stop me from thanking God when I get to see a great play or get to experience the joy of a game at the friendly confines. When I thank God, the experience is that much better.