The Cosmic Vending Machine

Gospel: John 16: 23-28

So we are told that whatever we ask in Jesus' name will be granted to us.  Really? Anything?  If I ask to win the lottery, will that happen? If I ask for the Buffalo Bills to win the Super Bowl, will that happen? If I ask for a job that fulfills me completely, will that happen? We have all asked for similar things and none of them has come to pass.  What, then, does this statement on prayer mean?

For one beginning a relationship with God it will mean treating God like a cosmic vending machine.  If we but insert the correct denomination of prayer we will get our trinket or snack.  We then discover that this interpretation fails, for it does not treat God like a person but rather as an object.  It makes us the master in the relationship and God as our servant.  

But this failure is not in vain.  It leads us to a relationship with God wherein we discern what it is we truly ought to ask for, what we really need to be a flourishing human being pursuing wisdom and joy.  Like so many things, Jesus does not give us specifics because they do not exist.  He provides us with a path of discernment and discovery to develop our own relationship with God.  No one can do that for us; we alone must work to make that a reality.