If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer,” declares Matthew 21:22. Many Christians are aware of a type of prosperity Christianity that tells us if we have enough faith, we can receive from God whatever we desire. Such terms as “name it and claim it” depict that all we have to do it express our desires to God and He is just standing by to fulfill our every wimp and want.
God does want us to trust and put our faith in Him for everything we need; however, it’s just as important that when we ask, we give God the room to answer our prayers in the best way he sees fit. Often, in our limited understanding, we may ask for things according to our flesh and not the will of God for our lives. The Bibles says that we may not receive from God because we are asking amiss or out of our own lust. When God said he will give us the desires of our heart, he is also saying that he will plant the desires as well. The more in alignment we are with God’s spirit, the less we will ask for things contrary to God’s will for us. Have you ever asked God for something and once you got it, you wished you hadn’t- that job that you hated or that boyfriend or girlfriend that broke your heart? Waiting on God is more for our good and protection and never God’s way of punishing or torturing us.
When it comes to asking God to fulfill our desires it is also important that we surrender these affections to the Lord. Our motto should be, “if it’s not good enough for God, then it’s not good enough for us.” But in addition to giving God freewill to bless us in his own way and timing, it is equally as important that we leave the results to Him.
Leaving the results to God means detaching from the outcome of what we are requesting. That means once we ask, we let go and let God. We don’t try to make it happen. We don’t look for it under every nook and cranny. We don’t help God out or continue to pray and pray for its manifestation. Instead, we detach from the outcome knowing that God is in complete control and that we can trust him to do what is best both now and in the future. It means waiting on God with faith and expectancy knowing that God is working out all things in his perfect timing and order.
But many Christians have a hard time letting go and detaching from their desired outcome. Maybe you’ve had your mind on something for a longtime and the thought of waiting for it any longer is more than you can bear. I believe that most of the worry, anxiety, and frustrations we experience, come from our inability to live without immediate expectation. When we expect something and it doesn’t happen it leaves us feeling empty, fearful, and depressed. But if we look at it a little closer, what we have actually done is created an idol out of the affection. We believe that the desire will bring a source of fulfillment or happiness to our lives. We believe this item, situation, or person, will make us or our life more complete.
The problem with this type of thinking is that we’ve lost our first love which is Christ. We’ve allowed deception or seduction to enter our minds as well as our hearts and led us away from the love of our Lord. We begin to believe that something other than God can plug up the gaps or holes in our life. Our attention is distracted from Christ and the internal, to seeking solace, contentment, and peace from the external or outside ourselves.
When we can ask for something and leave the results to God while we wait in expectancy on the Lord, we are following Jesus’s command, to “seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.” When the Lord is the object of our affection, nothing outside of us can take the Lord’s place and if God grants us with such things, it is more like the icing on the cake, an added blessing that God bestows upon us because he loves us so.
When we make our request made known to God, and then detach ourselves from the outcome, we can live in peace, joy, and contentment while waiting on God to work all things out for our highest good. When our thoughts begin to lead us astray, we must continue to bring them under the authority and word of God. We must continue to confess that we are complete in Christ and that we have everything we need.
Christ-centered meditation or meditating on the scriptures helps us to hide God’s word in our heart and to continually practice his presence. The Bible says that in God’s presence is fullness of joy. Isn’t it wonderful that we don’t have to search for joy in people, places, or things? We can find joy in the fullness of God and that fullness resides within us, within our own hearts.
Whatever you are asking or believing God for today, believe that you have received it and it will manifest as God’s best and you don’t have to think about it a second longer.
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