Everyone was looking at the table where was the family with the “strange” child. The restaurant was quiet and the ringing voice was clear: “Why should I ask the waiter, you said yourself that he has many other orders of hungry people here and can’t take care of me alone …?” The father was trying to speak quietly, but the boy couldn’t do it …”Dad, I am very, very hungry, so I asked God to feed me faster … He can do anything, and that’s what we read in the Bible, “Jesus said. “Whatever things you ask, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”…I believe and now I’m waiting for Him to feed me … I asked for some soup and from those too …”
His mother anxiously whispered to him to be quiet and then a young man almost shouted from the next table: “Here’s the soup, the waiter made a mistake and brought it here! I will bring it to you now.”
Oh, the hall has become the quietest place in the world!! No one touched utensils, no rattling or rustling was heard … The parents also froze. But the child didn’t seem to notice. He jumped up, come to the man for a second, and said:
“I knew He wouldn’t forget about the potato schnitzel neither … Thank you for telling me, I will now thank Him especially for being so good !!! ” The father was already at the stranger’s table and just nodded when he took the plate. He and his son sat down. The boy clasped his hands, closed his eyes, and bent his head down. … The man at the next table had disappeared, and the waiter appeared from somewhere and, waiting for the child to raise his head, placed a plate on the table. “Thanks! – the thin voice rang again – now bring it to the others, because they are hungry and I asked God to get from their favorite things!”
The waiter smiled and said something, but it sank into a sudden noise – … Everyone laughed and applauded. The child leaned over to his father and shouted to him, drowning out the applause: “But look how everyone loves God and applauds Him, daddy !!”
Why the Bible again
Of course, this story is not from the Bible. It happened very recently … I don’t know about the others present, but it made me open the Book, which is the only one called God’s Word … The little child said words spoken by Jesus Christ !!? That was remarkable, as was faith, no! – his trust in Him, the Almighty and all-loving God !!! People were moved, smiling, applauding … what, who, why? How many of them have ever admitted that it was God who “served” the hungry boy?
Perhaps he was the only one who was sure that the gentlemen and the ladies applauded the Good Jesus, Who thinks of all and loves them? And this guess worried me … Why? I wondered when was the last time I prayed to God for something and I was confident not only that He heard me, but that He would respond to my request? The child believed what was promised in the Bible …
“…that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.” (John 15:16)
“And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments…” (1 John 3:22)
“For everyone who asks receives,…Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:8, 12)
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” (John 15:7 NKJV)
“Whoever reads, let him understand…” (Matthew 24:15)
Yes, this is exactly the “secret” to discover the meaning of God’s words for your life: You must READ them and UNDERSTAND them !!! And you don’t have to be a scientist, philosopher or theologian. The child had understood! … And the Word of God was at work in his life! No, don’t object to me: He was cute and people felt sorry for him … or something! Everyone was in that restaurant at that time to eat in the minutes of their lunch break … (I know this because we work in neighboring offices)
And, of course, everyone was hungry! Who would pay attention to a capricious crying child? … I assure you, if you had a 30-minute break, … you would hardly cause it to you! Then? What happened?
What did I see? I saw a child who prayed to God and who did not doubt for a moment whether his request had been taken into account … I saw that. And I understood when I read, after I prayed to understand !!!
Let’s read it one more time …
There is nothing wrong with repetition, if it will help us to be aware … especially since we have missed the important part …?! Here are the four promises, but we will read the unstressed part of the verses … (now we will emphasize them)
- “…that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
These are the words of Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God. We are told to present ourselves as His protégés, when we will ask the Almighty for something … that is impossible for a person … Here is an example from everyday life: You go to the Municipal Administration and ask for something … on your own behalf. You know what’s happening to you … Well, nothing … or it’s happening, but after a lot, a lot of torment and running. But if you go on behalf of “someone high-ranking”, things develop differently and at a different speed, right? (I imagined our boy shouting at the waiter and begging him, and the waiter flew between the tables and on the way shot at the parents to calm the child and wait in line for his order ….)
- “For everyone who asks receives,…Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law …”
And these are the words of Jesus. So, if you are hungry and you want to be fed, look for the hungry and feed them … The child prayed for everyone in the hall that God would give them their favorite things … It was not enough for him to get what he wanted. He wanted complete happiness, and it comes when you not only receive, but when you give !!!
Let’s finally read the other two promises by connecting them.
- “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you;…and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments…“
The words of Jesus and the Apostle John actually say one very important thing: People, don’t think that if you lie, cheat, hurt, steal (even without getting caught !!!), if you are arrogant, heartless and selfish, you will get everything you ask in God’s name. The child prayed, but “relied” on God’s words, on Jesus’ promise … And he, trusting in them, fulfilled the Law. Yes, we all witnessed one … “usual” miracle and something more – we felt not annoyance and irritation, but a good feeling of a festive moment, of participating in something very special … And we applauded with joy.
Lots of great stories
There are … in the Bible. (Yes, the Bible over and over again!) Stories of people with whom extraordinary, supernatural things happen …
If you find them too familiar and fabulous …
Here is the story of the tax official Zacchaeus … (Read HERE)
They are very interesting … And they all have something in common with our story with the miracle in the restaurant …
Enjoy reading! And if you like it, don’t be shy, applaud God and trust Him. It can change your life and make it meaningful.