An Answer To Prayer – by Greg Mattson

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:7-11)!

At the time of my last Pondering I found myself in the Michigan UP on a vacation to the area that I often vacationed as a young boy, fishing from sunrise to sunset. That trip renewed my cravings for solitude and time for fishing in a beautiful area of our country. Due to my work, I haven’t been able to fish much for many years. This trip affected me such that I began searching for some land that I could visit regularly, spend weeks and eventually summers upon retirement doing just what the doctor ordered, FISHING.

After searching Craig’s List and real estate sites for hours, I found a beautiful spot on Lake Superior and eventually made an offer to buy it after getting approval from Cory. This process had been going on for months. I had mixed emotions; on one hand I was excited with the anticipation of a future spent fishing with friends and swimming with the kids and grandchildren and, on the other hand, I was concerned with the financial aspects. Could I really afford this and would I use it enough being five hours from Osceola? I would change my mind numerous times in a day between it being a good idea and a bad idea.

Faced with this dilemma while in the middle of the real estate offer, I was waiting for a counter offer as I went to prayer, asking God to make it clear which way I should go. Several days went by after my counter offer before hearing from the realtor. Surprisingly, after the property had been listed for a 1 1⁄2 years without an offer, another offer was placed. I was told I would have to make a higher offer if I wanted the property. I made one more offer but lost the property in the end. God had answered my prayer but not the way I had hoped. It was very clear yet I was saddened and disappointed with the outcome. I now realize that I often go to God in prayer with a preconceived outcome that I want God to make happen.

One could take the passage in Matthew out of context and get the idea that God will give his children anything they want just by asking … “Ask, and it will be given”.