When I was growing up, my three sisters used to tell me that because I was the baby of the family, I usually got what I wanted when I asked our parents for something, especially Daddy. So whenever they wanted something and were afraid Daddy would say no, they would send me to ask him.

Now, I don’t really remember that to be true, but I do remember that it was comforting to hear it. That made me feel special—to think that Daddy might have a hard time saying no to me. I believe my heavenly Daddy—Papa, as I like to think of Him (not only because I love William P. Young’s book The Shack but also because that’s what we called my sweet maternal grandfather)—loves me even more than Daddy did and doesn’t want to say no to my requests.

Unfortunately, I seldom felt that Daddy paid much attention to me, well, unless I did something he felt a need to punish me for. Oh, he was a good provider for his family, but I think I was a bit afraid of him. It seemed he had more important things to do than listen to me whining about something I wanted.

I’m afraid that has carried over into my relationship with Papa. I suppose I’ve always been a little afraid of Him, too. I’ve had a hard time believing that He loves me personally enough to listen attentively to what I say to Him, much less that He wants to give me “the desires of [my] heart.”

I take a great deal of comfort in Matthew 7:9-11 (MSG): “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?”

I love that: “Don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?” Do we truly believe God wants only good for us, or do we see Him through the lenses of our earthly parents who were anything but perfect?

We are definitely limited by our history, by how we viewed our parents and how they interacted with us. At some point in our lives we need to own the fact that, although our earthly parents are in some ways like Papa, their love for us is only a poor reflection of the perfect love Papa will always have for us. Papa is love (1 John 4:8)…pure, unadulterated love that we can only begin to understand and reflect to others in this life.

The best I know to do is to trust Jesus to continually intercede for me at Papa’s right hand (Romans 8:34). He knows what I’m going through because He’s been through all the same emotions, temptations, frustrations, and needs. Papa now knows exactly what it feels like to be human. I like to think He has even more compassion for us since Jesus became one of us.

Now I am delighted to go to Him with my requests because my heart truly believes He loves me. I understand that He wants to give me the desires of my heart because—only through his power—my heart is becoming more like His heart every day.