Duty or Delight?

I've been thinking a lot lately about how God must view my "relationship" with Him. I've heard all the analogies about parenthood...you know, how a loving parent could never stop loving their kids, even if the only reason they ever call is when they need something. "Hey Dad, I love you...and by the way, can I have $20 bucks?" or..."Hey Mom, love your hair...and by the way, can I spend the night at a Jamie's house?" or..."Mom, Dad, you guys are the greatest! Can I borrow the car Friday night?"

You get the idea...

But I want my relationship with Jesus to be more than that. And sometimes it is, but sometimes it isn't. The whole idea of prayer should be more about knowing Him, and less about getting something from Him. Psalm 37:4 offers an incredible promise to all those who know God, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Encouraging, isn't it? But in an effort to claim the latter part of that verse (giving us the desires of our heart), I often skip right past the first part (delighting in Him).

Which brings me back to this simple question: Is my prayer time a DELIGHT or a DUTY? Do I pray because I want friendship with Him, or because I want something from Him? The cool thing is that Psalm 37:4 tells us that one leads to the other--as long as we keep the right perspective. It ends up something like this: "God I love you, and you already know what I need, so let's just talk a while and I know you'll take care of that other stuff later."

Sounds more like a true relationship, huh? Of course, the alternative is always an option: "Hey Jesus, you look great today...and by the way, can I have $20 bucks?"