One day, in a moment of self-realization my dad prayed for humility. It wasn't long before he got what he asked for and scared us all off from praying for spiritual virtues. I'm only half joking of course, but God did answer Dad's prayer and pronto. This answer to Dad's prayer really made me think about knowing what to ask for and praying with an open heart.
Let me explain. My parents were in the process of building a home and this was the late '70s when interest rates were high, incomes were not, and gas lines wrapped around street blocks like ribbons on a gift. Still, Dad had a stable job and his responsibility to provide led he and Mom to the decision to move our 12 person family out of our four bedroom, 1900 square foot home with a dinky yard into a home with two more bedrooms with a much larger yard and a kitchen that could accomodate everyone sitting together at meal time. They were working with an architect designing an efficient house that was simple but large, practical people that they were. (And still are, by the way.)
So Dad, in a moment of prayer, felt the compulsion to pray for humility. He got it. Within a very short period of time, with his resources committed to the new home, gas prices rose even more, interest rates sky-rocketed to all time highs and the housing market quickly became a buyers market only. He could not sell our old house.
With some savings in the bank and faith in his heart he made payments on two homes, working aggressively to sell the old one. It didn't work. For a year and a half he watched his savings dwindle, to the point where he and Mom had nothing left. He had been granted his humility.
Eventually he did sell the home (way below value) and he and Mom got their feet back on the ground (although never returning to that "safety net" nest egg in the bank). Other events occurred and some personal family crises gave Dad (and Mom) the gift of humility again and again.
Why did Dad feel compelled to tell us what he had prayed for when he did and how he had received it? I suspect it was God's gentle urging, knowing there was a lesson for our whole family in there. I do know that we all watched Dad's faith in asking, his faith in receiving, and God's answer, in God's time. I learned we can't control God, and that challenges and struggles bestowed upon (or just allowed) are so often the instruments of the virtues we seek.
God is a generous Father. He loves to give to His children. What are the gifts you seek and how is He bestowing those gifts in your life? A trouble or concern that emerges today could be the answer that bestows your gift or saves your soul. God is so good at giving us what we ask for, and more.
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