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"Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them."
(Mark 11:24)
This week in our devotions, we are looking at how God meets our needs. One of the Hebrew names of God is Jehovah Jireh, the God who provides. He loves us and enjoys having a relationship with us. He is our heavenly Father, and He alone has the power and ability to meet our every need. God is so kind to us that He not only meets our needs, but He will also meet our desires if they are in accordance with His will. In 1 John 2:14-15, we read, "Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him."
God will always do His part, but He will not do our part. Yes, He grants to us whatever we ask of Him in belief and trust when it aligns with His will, but He knows far better than we do what we actually need. I am sure you are grateful that God did not answer every prayer you ever prayed with a "yes". Looking back on my life, I can see how He blessed me and protected me by telling me "no" at different times.
Pastor Stanley gives the example in Scripture where Paul says that if we do not work, then we should not eat. We must do our part. In 2 Thessalonians 3:7-10, we read: "For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat."
Stanley gave the example that, as a pastor, if he does not study but still expects God to give him a sermon, it will not work out; it does not work that way. He has a responsibility to read, study Scripture, and pray. God has a part, and we have a part. We succeed through God's inspiration and our perspiration.
Stanley spent a good bit of time addressing this issue: "I believe God can meet my needs, so why am I not getting my needs met? God can; He has the power. Why not meet my needs?" We discussed the first reason earlier this week. Let me state it again along with one more, and then tomorrow we will close with the remainder of Stanley's helpful teaching on this subject:
- You cannot live in sin and expect Him to meet your needs. We must pursue the Lord, walk with Him, and be in fellowship with Him. We must do our part. Titus 3:14 says, "And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful." We are to engage in good deeds. Do not be undisciplined and lazy; rather, do your part.
- We must respect God's timing. God promises to meet our needs, but He does not promise to do so when we want Him to or in the ways we wish He would. He knows best.
In May, our son Bryant and his wife Kyndall faced a very harsh disappointment when they were trying to adopt a baby in Alabama. They drove all night, got a car seat, and were ready to adopt this little newborn, but the biological mom changed her mind. They drove back home on Mother's Day weekend with no baby. It was really hard on them and all our family. But in September just last month, the time and person were right, and God provided; He blessed Bryant and Kyndall with a beautiful baby boy that they have adopted. Tabor Lane Forshee is God's gift to our family, and he is my first grandson!
God has seasons and reasons to meet our needs. We have to wait on His timing. Sometimes what we want is indeed God's will, but just not now. For God to give us His best, we have to be willing to wait for His perfect timing.
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