Bothering God

If I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times: "God must be sick and tired of hearing from me" or "I guess I'll just live with this because I don't want to ask for it again and keep bothering God".

Bothering God. Is that really possible? Is there a set quota on how many times we get to appeal to Him before He says, "You again? ENOUGH!"  Does God have a bed time? Days off?

I call myself "God's whiny child" because I like to complain, anyway. I figure I might as well complain to Him. Why keep talking to myself? Do I expect Him to address my every complaint? No. Should I keep  praying for promises He already said He's given me? I can, but don't need to.  Should I keep praying for something when He's already told me that the answer is to  obey Him, repent or forgive? Of course not.

Do I expect Him to care about everything from my illnesses to my argument with Mom to my spiritual dryness to my fear of the dark to finding my lost keys? I know He does. One of my mentors said, "If it's important to you, it's important to God." When I bring Him even my whiny complaints it's because I know deep down that it's really about the relationship. The fact that there's somebody at the other end of the line who's listening and who cares.

The Psalmist complained through 2/3 of his psalms. Most were what we could consider "legitimate complaints", but boy, did he have a LOT of them. I've always been blessed by how many times God has surprised me with answers even to my un-uttered wishes! It's not about me and how important I am to  God. It's about God and how loving, gracious, generous, thoughtful and merciful a Father He is. So - go ahead. Ask Him. You know you want to.