We have “required" (asked NASB) (7592) God for so many silly things in our prayers. It might be embarrassing if God ever published a list. Of course many were valid and sincere, but not all. Most of the stories of genies and magic lamps and such have three wishes. In the next verse we will get two examples of appropriate requests.
Notice that God did not ask for two requests. He did not promise, like in the fairy tales, to grant just three requests. As we shall see later, this will not be a wish list for the author but an expression of what he wants his life to say.
What would be our last wishes? Have you ever had that fantasy? “You will have thirty days to live. What will you do with them?” Or seven days or one hour or as the Bible verse says,
(Luke 12:20 KJV) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?Wouldn’t it be great if we were focused enough to make our last request 10, 20 or 40 years before we expected it? I have mentioned it before but one of the ideas that C.S. Lewis expresses in several places is that we are preparing for eternity. Eternity will have more growth and the further we can get down the road in this life, the greater our growth on the other side. He says to think of steering a boat. A small difference in the rudder doesn’t make much difference over a few feet but over an ocean voyage it can land you on the wrong continent.
So? Prepare for eternity. Don’t do it with the attitude I show when my wife is driving and I scream, “We’re all going to die!” Do it with the attitude that someday this stock is going to be worth a lot of money. Oh, and also to bring glory to God.
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