A Giving God

A Giving God

. . . who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 1 Timothy 6:17, ESV

MANY PEOPLE WANT TO PRAY more effectively. But we can’t do so without knowing about the one we are praying to. Our perception of God is all-important, shaping everything that goes through our hearts and minds when we lift our requests to him. If we don’t know he is generous by nature—one who blesses and desires to pour out his gifts on people who will appreciate them, enjoy them, and celebrate them—our faith will lie dormant in our hearts. Yes, God provides for those who hardly recognize his provision as gifts and for those who thank him but then stay away. But he delights in giving to those who draw closer to him after receiving from his hand. He loves giving to grateful, joyful recipients.

Paul addressed this dynamic of receiving in his first letter to Timothy. The “rich in this world” (6:17, NLT) should not put their trust in their riches, receiving from God and then ignoring him as if they earned what they got. But in that warning, Paul added an often-neglected phrase about God: he “richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” There is no hint that the original language means “just what you need but no more,” as so many of us tend to assume. No, he is not the stern father afraid of spoiling his children or the master who feels responsible only for his servants’ barest needs. He is extravagant, rich, magnanimous, openhearted, and openhanded. He has already lavished us with gifts, many of which we take for granted. And he wants to pour out even more—but on the terms of faith, and in hearts that will bear the fruit of gratitude, joy, and generosity. In other words, he wants his children to be just like him, apples that don’t fall far from the tree. He wants us to be openhearted and openhanded too.

Expect good things from God. Pray with awareness that he is the most generous Father ever. Ask for the sake of your enjoyment, but spread the joy. His hand opens to hearts that are open to him.

God always has an open ear and a ready hand, if you have an open and ready heart.