If there is anything that speaks to God’s grace, it must be his capacity to listen to our prayers. I remember from the movie “Bruce Almighty” poor Bruce got inundated by the volume of prayers. I think more even than the volume would be the tone, the entitlement and the perceived sense of position.

We are highly sensitive to communication tone and rank. If we feel that someone is “talking down” to us we immediately get defensive and attempt by retreat, manipulation, coercion or threat re-establish our position of pre-eminence.

How do we go to God? If I sample my own prayer life I am embarrassed. There are the pleading, desperation prayers “help me help me help me” and the demanding “Paul in charge” prayers: “OK God, here is the plan, get this done by the next time we get together…” If this pattern of communication dominated my relationship with my children I wouldn’t be too happy, yet this is what I do to God.

Luke 11:13 promises the Father’s gift of the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. I think instinctively I might respond and say “sure, the Holy Spirit is nice, but what I could really use is a bit more money and some more action on my requests to change my circumstances or the behavior of some of the people around me…” And this is completely indicative of the poverty of my perspective.

There are people that I look up to because of their wisdom, knowledge, power and reputation and I come into their presence I tend to be more submissive, more eager to listen, more teachable, more receptive towards whatever advice or counsel or aid they might be disposed to offer me. In prayer the God of the universe accommodates me and offers me an audience pretty much as much as I wish and whenever I wish and how do I treat him?

In this passage he offer me himself and clearly sees directly through me at how dismissive I am about the gift. I am as corrupt and sinful as the two sons of Luke 15 who want their father’s stuff, his money, his power, his reputation more than they want their own father. The younger son communicates it up front. The “good” son communicates it by failing to share the joy of his father. He can’t rejoice with his father when he rejoices. God offers me himself by his Spirit but I think all kinds of other agenda items on my list are more valuable. What an idiot I am!

Fortunately the entire passage: 11:5-13 communicates our true relationship. I am the child, he is the parent. Parents tolerate a degree of selfishness from their children, but wisely parent them through time and in patience out of it. He grows us up to be gracious and generous like himself. He does so by giving us himself. When such a great and generous God gives you a gift, receive it with thanks and grow to understand its value.