Praying For Wants

Praying for Wants

Trust in the LORD and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper. Psalm 37:3

“GOD WILL GIVE US WHAT WE NEED, not what we want.” These words come out of many Christians’ mouths as an automated response to the prosperity gospel and prayers of greed instead of need. At a most basic level, this is true. God has not promised to fulfill every single desire we ever have. And for those of us whose desires change almost daily, that’s comforting. God is watching out for our best interests.

But does God really have a history of providing only what we need? Hardly. He opens his hand to satisfy desires (Psalm 145:16). He tells us that if we delight in him, he will give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37:4). He is the giver of all good gifts (James 1:17) and provides us everything richly to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). He has filled the lives of numerous saints with abundance. God is no hard master who demands that we eke out a minimal existence.

As important as warnings against a prosperity-only gospel are, they risk painting God as a miser—the father who only gives school clothes or the great-aunt who wraps up a pair of cheap socks for Christmas. Many Christians approach him as though he always insists on vegetables and never dessert. And while it’s true that God does not obligate himself to satisfy our frivolous wants and demanding greed, he is much more extravagant with us than an austere master. His promises for spiritual, emotional, and even physical desires are enormously generous. Yes, most of them imply aligning ourselves with his character and nature and loving the things he loves, but in that context, he invites us to ask whatever we wish (John 14:13; 15:7). We can trust that in most times and places, he wants more for us than the bare minimum.

Ask freely with that in mind. Pray big prayers—not selfishly or greedily, but with an awareness of his generosity. Make it your purpose to freely receive so you can freely give with the same generosity your Father has. He is interested in your needs and your wants.

God is more anxious to bestow his blessings on us than we are to receive them.