3:1 "Now Peter and
John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2
And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily
at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who
entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple,
asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at
us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give
you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took
him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle
bones received strength. 8 So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the
temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God."
Is prayer folly? Can it be? Jesus prayed and taught His
disciples to pray also so it can't always be folly. However He rebuked the
prayers of the religious who prayed loudly and publicly. Their prayers more a
commentary on their own "goodness" than a conversation with God. So
we know there is legitimate prayer and false prayer but is there foolish
prayer?

Think about it. Prayer is asking. When Jesus taught His
disciples how to pray it was a list of requests. It went like this:
"Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this
day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who
trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for
Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, amen."
Six requests in one brief prayer. Jesus also said: "Ask.
You do not receive because you do not ask."
So we are told, encouraged, urged to ask. There is most
definitely no folly in asking. So where is the folly? Is there any? Much ink
has been spilled concerning prayer. Conferences have been held. Seminars have
been taught. Is prayer that complicated? Did the lame man make a mistake by
asking for money? Was it a foolish asking?
Since none of us are going to stop asking for less than God
wants to give let's skip ahead to the good news. Prayer is folly when we go
past asking and start telling God exactly how He should fix our problems. Jesus
taught us to ask for His will to be done. There is a great difference between
praying for His will to be done and telling Him what to do. There is a great
difference between asking for our daily bread and telling Him what to provide
and how to provide.
Now here is the good news. God is good. God is infinitely
better than good. He sees past our limited sight. He answers not what we ask
for. He answers what we would have asked for if we could see as He sees.
Money? You want some spare change to grab a bite to eat? Then
what? You don't need money. You need legs that work so you can earn your own
money and be a blessing to others. That is your true need but you didn't ask
because... because you didn't think it was possible or you knew it was possible
but not for you or you knew it was even possible for you but feared for
whatever reasons it wouldn't happen so you protected yourself from
disappointment by not asking at all. But by not asking aren't you ensuring
disappointment?
What does God do? He answers the unspoken prayer of the lame
man's heart. While his lips are asking for money God cuts past the surface and
gives him what he didn't think possible.
If you go to Him as you are full of folly and lame He won't
leave you like that. Best of all He will do abundantly above all that we ask or
even think. "But" you say. "I have asked and gotten
nothing." Keep asking even if you aren't asking for the right thing. He
hears. He knows. The Story is not over yet.
That wasn't the first day that man sat at the Temple. His
ways are not our ways. They are better. That's the best part. That's the good
news.
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