Vending Machine God

Has God been answering your prayers? Does God answer your prayers? Does praying even work!?!? I think this is something we all struggle with when we consider the nature of God. I think too many of us have this vending machine ideology of God and unfortunately, that is not who God is.

Recently, I have been praying a lot. Some of my prayers have been answered favorably and some have not. Does that mean God is not listening? I don’t think so, but I have to admit it causes me doubt and pain when things don’t go my way. Sometimes, it is as if I think prayer is some magical button we push and God is supposed to respond like some vending machine granting our request.

Where does this misconception come from and how do we correct this? Prayer is not a button to be pushed, it is a relationship to be pursued. Yet even though I know this, I cannot help but get upset with God when situations turn for the worst. Why do I think like this? Well part of it is what I have been taught about God. Sciptures like Matthew 7:7-11, seem to paint a picture of a vending machine sort of God who if I just ask, seek, and knock, then I will receive, find, and discover. But is that what it really being said? Yes and no. Jesus did say this, but if we look at the context of the passage we will see that Jesus is talking about asking, seeking, and discovering God’s heart in situations of judging others. Misunderstandings like these lead us to believe incorrectly about the nature of God and thus damage the relationship we could have. So what do we do about this?

This Sunday, August 14th, we will be beginning a brand new sermon series on prayer, where we will discuss the effectiveness of prayer and how to have a more effective prayer life. Join us for worship at 8:30 and 10:45 AM as we begin this prayer journey together.

In God’s grip,

Pastor Chuck Church