Romans 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
Some people treat prayer as though it were a matter of trying to maneuver God into a position where He can't refuse our request but must give us what we want. Provided we can press all the right buttons and utter all the correct phrases, He will automatically be compelled to deliver for us. Such a view is wrong in all respects. While it is true that God promises to give what a righteous and rightly motivated heart will humbly petition Him for, it is far from true that we can get anything our hearts desire from God by using the right techniques. But it is also wrong in that it paints a picture of God as needing to be persuaded to give good gifts to His children - as though He is not already favorably disposed towards them.
There are many texts in Scripture that show how false and wicked such a view of God is, and one of them is our text above. Paul calls the Romans (and us) to reflect on the Gift that He has already given us - the Lord Jesus Christ, His "Beloved", His only begotten Son. Did the Infinite Creator have anything more precious to give? Has He reserved for Himself His really valuable things and given us mere trinkets? Indeed, there was nothing more valuable to God, no-one more precious and more lovely to Him than Jesus, and yet God Sent Him into this world and gave Him up so that we, His enemies, might be freed from sin, adopted into His family and granted eternal life.
Now, says Paul, consider what this means. God has not withheld His most treasured "possession" but has given Him up for us. Is it conceivable that God could in the next moment withhold anything from us that is for our good? No! If God gave up His Son for us when we were His enemies, will He deal meanly and in a miserly way with us now that we are His sons and daughters by adoption? It cannot be!
So think on these things this week, and let them be strong motivators and guides for us in the matter of prayer. We do not have to persuade God against His inclinations to be gracious and kind to us if we are His children - and the gift of Jesus stands in wonderful confirmation of that fact. Let's rush into His presence this week, thank Him for this superlative gift and seek Him for the things we need so that we may live for His glory here on earth!