God is not your Waiter

Recently I had someone say to me, "I've tried this God thing and it's just not working for me. I've prayed and God doesn't answer my prayers, ever." So...you know I'm going to get up on my soapbox...

God is NOT your waiter. He does not come to your table, take your orders and then run off to His heavenly kitchen, whip it right up and then deliver it to you, just like you think you need in the time frame you think you need it in. Now, some of you are laughing. And some of you are mad that I said this. The ones that are mad...I'm talking to you.

God is not at our beck and call. Quite the opposite. Many people pray to God when they need something, but they never praise Him. He's not important enough in their life for them to take out some time to get in His word. How do you feel when your children constantly demand stuff from you (even if it's in a nice way), but never take the time to crawl into your lap and tell you how much they appreciate and love you? You feel used. Is that how we want God to feel? Used?

This "God thing" is not a thing. It is not like deciding to wear a certain color lipstick and then if it doesn't look good, you just change the color. Living for God, having Him speak to you, having Him answer your prayers, comes from having Him in a central role in your life. He is the star of the show, NOT us! He is not a supporting actor. It is ALL about Him. Let me say it again. It is ALL about him. Not us. We should be asking everyday, God, what can I do for you today...not, God, what can you do for me today. If you feel like God is not hearing you, stop and think. Are you taking time to form a relationship with Him? Are you taking time to listen to Him? Are you constantly demanding things from Him and then getting mad at Him when He doesn't give it to you? Are your motives pure? Are you serving others instead of always serving yourself?

God loves all of us and offers all of us the opportunity to have relationship with Him. But we have to step up to the plate and step into the role of a relationship, not a demanding child gimme gimme, my name's Jimmy type of relationship.