By Brother Jerry Valenti | Mar. 4, 2026

Perhaps you’re familiar with a toy from a different era known as a Jack-in-the-Box. The toy consists of a little figure (presumably named Jack) who lives in a small box. On the side of the box is a crank. When you turn the crank, the lid of the box opens, and Jack pops out of the box. Poor Jack is totally under your control — he has to stay in the box until you decide to turn the crank and let him out of the box. And, even when you let him out, he’s limited in how far he can go since he’s attached to the bottom of the box.

Let’s be careful not to think of God as a God-in-the-Box. God wants to be involved in all aspects of our lives each and every day. He’s not someone to be kept in a box, waiting for us to let Him out only when we think we need Him. Also, our lives will be most blessed if we give God free reign in our lives. If we try to tell God how to bless us or how to answer our prayers, we are trying to limit how far He can go and what He can do. Allowing Him to operate “out of the box” may well result in blessings we cannot even imagine.

A scriptural example can be found in Acts 3. This chapter describes a man who has never been able to walk. Every day, he can be found outside of the temple, begging for money. Imagine this man praying one day that God would send someone to give him a piece of silver. Now, here comes Peter who looks upon him, and the man is thinking his prayer is about to be answered. Then Peter says, “Silver and gold have I none.” OK, no answered prayer today. And then Peter says, “Rise up and walk” and the man is able to walk for the first time! God had a much greater blessing for this man than what he ever could have imagined — the Lord’s “out of the box” action left the man walking and leaping and praising God.

As Jesus continues to prepare His Apostles for His departure, He senses that they are becoming uneasy about what He is saying. Obviously, they don’t want Him to go. Imagine if they really understood what was going to be happening to Him the next day — they would have been praying fervently for God to intervene such that it wouldn’t happen. Would God have granted that request? No, He wouldn’t, and Jesus explains why:

“Because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” (John 16:6-7)

These men, with their limited understanding and limited view of the big picture, are trying to keep God in the box (or in this case, Jesus on the earth). But God has a much greater plan in place — the crucifixion is necessary to enact the plan of salvation, and Jesus’ departure from earth is necessary to allow the Comforter (the Holy Ghost) to be sent. When these men receive the Holy Ghost later, they’ll know that God was doing the right thing here, so Jesus counsels them to just trust God and let Him operate outside of the box they’re trying to create.

As we pray for our own situations today, are we trying to create a box to keep God in? Are we saying, “OK God, I’ve decided to do this, and I want you to bless me in that,” as opposed to saying, “Lord, what do you want me to do?" Do we tell God the exact steps He needs to take to solve our problems, or can we leave it up to Him to determine the best actions? Would we be comfortable telling God, “I have no preconceived notions of what to do regarding this situation — feel free to direct me in WHATEVER WAY you want me to go”? Or is that giving God too much leeway?

While it’s not necessarily wrong to pray for specific things, let’s offer God the opportunity to work “out of the box” in our lives. Instead of confining Him to the limits of our own human minds, let’s trust Him to open His storehouse and pour down whatever blessings He has in store for us. Or to put it another way — instead of settling for asking Him for a piece of silver, let’s set our sights on walking and leaping and praising God!

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