.....block

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9-11

I have a very wise and wonderfully-gifted, very spiritual friend. During a time when I was considering a change in my life, she taught me a prayer. Just like its author, it is very simple: "Bless It or Block It."

I used to believe that if the answer to my prayer - whether the request was acquiring a new job, a new romance, a new home, or keeping what I already had – if it was not a resounding “Yes, you’ve got it,” that I was somehow being denied what was good for me.

This simple prayer reminds me that there are other possibilities. Sometimes we are denied the things that we want because they are not what is for our highest good. When I can truly ask God to either "bless" the thing that I want or to "block" it for whatever reason He deems is in my best interest, I know that I am blessed, no matter what the result.

An example of this prayer at work is when this very same friend who taught me this prayer wanted to purchase her dream home. However, one obstacle after another began to present itself, and she was unable to purchase the home. 

At first she was disappointed, but still undaunted in her search for a dream home, she continued looking. Only after she found another home was it revealed that the first house actually had huge foundation problems and would have been a very poor investment.

Trust that whatever it is that you ask God to "bless or block", He will.

- david langerfed