No Consulting Fee

I don’t know about you, but I have someone do my taxes. There were, of course, several years where I tried to do it on my own. With the help of TurboTax and my dad, I somehow plowed my way through the process. Never again. I decided from then on to have a tax guy, an expert, help with this process.

One day, I had a random question about my taxes. It was late afternoon  and I casually called my tax guy and spent 15 minutes asking him his opinion on some relatively non-essential tax question. He graciously answered my question, and then, one week later, I received an invoice. I was charged a certain amount of money for the time that we had shared on the phone to answer my question about my taxes.

My shock at this invoice was more of an indication of my personal naivety than anything else. He is an expert and he makes his living helping other people with his intellectual expertise. I’ll have you know, however, that I thought long and hard before I ever randomly called him on the phone to ask him a question. Quite honestly, calling him on the phone with my last resort.

The greatest lesson I learned was that God doesn’t charge me when I come to him in prayer for advice. He doesn’t charge us. The apostle James writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he should receive anything from the Lord for he is a double minded man, unstable in all he does.”

God doesn’t charge me and he doesn’t shame me for coming to him in prayer. Think about that. The Almighty God of the universe not only suggests and expects, but loves it when we come to him in prayer. It’s free. And we ought to use it to its fullest advantage.

I am often clueless to know how to lead as a dad. Literally, there are times when I am completely at a loss as to how to move through a particular parenting situation. For the record, as my kids get older, I am finding I know less and less about what to do at times.

Ask him to help you navigate this uncharted parenting path. I believe God is moved by the prayers of his people. The Bible teaches God will do powerful things based on the requests of his people.

When we are lacking wisdom, ask of God. When we are feeling like a failure as a parent, ask of God, who gives generously to all without finding fault.

Be faithful;  be prayerful;  be the asking kind. He gives wisdom for this life. We just need to ask.

• Recall: What is God’s response when we come to Him in prayer?
• Reflect: Is prayer a first or last resort when you are in need of parenting advice?
• Respond: What areas of your life do you need to give to God in prayer?
• Rethink: What are you doing right now to be a prayerful parent?