Believe to Receive

You’ve probably heard your parents say at Christmas, “If you don’t believe, you won’t receive.”  Of course, they’re talking about believing in Santa Claus, and for some families, The Elf on the Shelf. As my boys grew up, I continued this theme in an effort to keep the magic of Christmas alive. To this day, my boys still ask for presents from Santa!

I thought about how much this is like faith. Faith requires belief, even when the impossible seems more likely. Often we pray, but don’t believe God will really answer our prayer. In so doing, we miss the opportunity to see how God wants to answer our prayer. We miss the miracle right in front of us.

In his book Angels, the late Reverend Billy Graham relates the story told by John G. Paton, a missionary in the South Pacific Islands. One night Paton and his wife found themselves threatened by hostile natives who surrounded their mission headquarters, threatening to burn their camp and kill them both. The couple prayed all night for God’s protection. The next morning, the natives had vanished. A year later, the chief of the native tribe who had threatened them became a Christian.  Rev. Paton asked him about that night, and the chief said he and his men had seen an army of giant men in “shining garments with drawn swords in their hands” surrounding the mission grounds. They were too scared to attack.

I wonder if Paton and his wife at any point that night doubted that God would rescue them. I know I would have! They didn’t get to “see” the miracle God provided until nearly one year later. Then, everything changed. I think the saying should be, “Believe so you will receive.” Believe God has answered your prayers. Believe God has blessed you with gifts and talents. Believe God can and will do what He says He’ll do. Miracles and answers to prayer happen every day. When we believe in faith that God is good, we see He’s already given us a million gifts.