“For your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”
Matthew 6:8 (NLT)
It’s not a stretch to assume that the desire for marriage is the most prayed prayer for many single women. Some are persistent in prayer for this, but others are becoming weary. Their hope for marriage is diminishing because it’s been such a long while and they’ve seen no movement. Matthew 6:8 gives us tremendous insight about our prayers before God. It teaches us that God knows what we need before we even part our lips to ask. We might think, “Well, if Heavenly Father knows what I need, why doesn’t He just give it to me?” That’s a good question. In answering it, we need to take notice that this verse didn’t say that God knows exactly what you want, it says He knows “exactly what you need”. Understanding the difference between the two can have a tremendous impact on how we pray.
Hebrews 11:1(NKJV) tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” It’s the title deed that we have received the thing we’ve prayed for before the blessing materializes in our circumstances. In other words, we must believe in the goodness and power of God and that He will bless us because He loves us. 1John 5:14(NKJV) gives us even more insight. It says, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” This verse allows us to zoom in even more regarding the requirement of faith. It tells us that the thing we are praying to receive must be in the Will of God.
Contrary to what many believe, God doesn’t bless everything. God blesses according to His Will, and His Will is His Word. Therefore, we need to know God’s Word in order to know His Will.
Wisdom teaches us that faith is aided by our focus. This means that we’re zooming into what we desire, we have a focused image of it in our minds, and we’re continually concerned about receiving the thing we’ve prayed to receive. In other words, you have to really, really want it, and you also must be prepared to prove that you really want it. You and I are responsible for backing our faith, and we do this by good works.
Most of us understand that faith requires more than words. We make our lists, or we do a vision board. We get busy bettering ourselves in an effort to expand the landing strip for the blessing to land. These can be very productive and helpful, but in all of this, we can’t neglect to focus on God’s Will for us. We must consider that what we want and what we’re praying to receive doesn’t line up with what God says we need.
Matthew 6:8 tells us that God knows exactly what we need, and it is our privilege and responsibility to come into agreement with this. If we’ve been praying for years to meet our future spouses and there’s no movement, God isn’t withholding the blessing, we’re withholding it from ourselves. Heavenly Father’s requirement must be satisfied. He commands us to grow in Christ, to live greater in His love, and to understand what it means to serve others, so that we can minister to and serve our future spouses. Understand that the wait and patience for marriage is always about getting on board with God’s desire to see us grow spiritually in Christ. It’s to love our partners unselfishly and to always put our relationship with God first. When our commitment is to develop more in these areas, our faith and blessings will grow. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“God Knows What We Need”, written by Kim Times, edited by Fran Mack for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2022. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!