Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
James 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
When we read the promises of God, we must read them the way we ourselves want to be heard—in full context. Just as we expect others to understand our words in light of what we’ve said before, God expects us to interpret His promises in light of all He has revealed in His Word.
It’s tempting to isolate a promise like “ask anything in My name” and stretch it to cover every personal desire. But “anything” doesn’t mean “everything.” And “whosoever” doesn’t mean “whoever ignores God’s will.” God’s promises are not blank checks for the self-centered or the disobedient. He hasn’t promised to fulfill our every whim—He has promised to equip us for His will.
Imagine being asked to build a fence, and the one who sent you says, “If you need anything, call me.” That “anything” clearly applies to fence-building, not requesting a sports car! Likewise, when God says, “Ask anything,” He means anything related to what He has asked you to do. He has not promised to indulge our whims but to equip us for His work.
This is why many prayers seem to go unanswered—not because God is unfaithful, but because we’ve misunderstood how they relate to His assignment for our lives. False assumptions produce false expectations, and false expectations delay the heart’s joy (“Hope deferred makes the heart sick”—Proverbs 13:12). But when our desires align with His purpose, prayers are answered, lives are transformed, and Christ is being formed within us. (Galatians 4:19)
God never promised to fulfill all our wants, but He has assured us that He will meet all our needs (Philippians 4:19). His provision is always connected to His purpose. He is faithful in equipping you for His calling, not to make life more comfortable but to make you more useful for His Kingdom.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt I'm sure several million people were wondering, "How am I going to be fed? How am I going to survive in this wilderness?" Imagine the logistical nightmare. An incalculable quantity of food and water were needed to survive in the desert. Where would it come from? Yet, in this seemingly impossible situation, God provided!
There was a mailman, John Hand, who rode his mail truck through Los Altos Hills of California on his 50 mile route each day. The route was plain, all brown and virtually no color. One day he began to throw wild flower seeds out of the window as he drove. Today, if you travel his route in the Los Altos Hills you’ll find beautiful patches of flowers throughout, blossoming in many colors.
A farmer and his friend went duck hunting. Eventually, they got to talking about the things of God, as they always would. "You're always talking about these battles you have with the devil," the farmer's friend said to him. "It's so silly – I mean, I'm not even a Christian and I've never experienced anything like that."
Have you ever noticed that when people are in love, they tend to forget everything else? Everything becomes secondary — cars, houses, money — nothing matters — it is all secondary to love. Then, when they fall out of love, as in a divorce, all of a sudden those things mean everything! They argue about all the little meaningless things they ever owned together. Each wants it all for himself.
The Hebrew word for a dried up river bed is "Nachal". Israel has many of these. Here, in Israel it rains in winter, but not in summer. In the summer, these places stand as a testament of the rains that once fell and of the rains yet to come. Then, when they do come, the Nechalim (nachal plural) almost instantly fill with water. This is what the Scripture means when it says, "I will give you rivers in the desert." There is a promise in that for us.
In 1917, the Ottoman Empire controlled the city of Aqaba which seemed impregnable to any attack. Behind the city in every direction was a vast desert, and overlooking the city’s harbor were huge naval guns protecting it against any enemy attack from the sea.
Solomon wrote, “a merry heart has a continual feast!” But why does it seem like so many of us are not feasting? How do we maintain a merry heart?