“…for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.” Matt 6:8
God knows what we need before we ask Him.
To some this assertion raises the question: Why then do we need to ask Him for what we need? But to others it is a comfort to know that He is aware of our needs, for that fact then guarantees His provision.
Today I am concerned with the latter: the guarantee of provision. God provides adequately for you, sometimes, beyond what you ask for, because in your limited understanding, you may not actually be asking for what you actually need, only what you think may be available, tempered by your need to have a ‘realistic’ expectation.
In Acts 3:1-9 is a remarkable story of the healing of a man born physically challenged. He who had never walked all forty years of his life, not only walked that day, but he jumped, and he leaped, as he praised God for giving him the ability to walk.
It was an ordinary day in the life of the man who had been carried to the Gate Beautiful to seek alms from temple-goers. That was his preoccupation. So, he focused his attention on the crowd going into the temple at the hour of prayer, looking at no one in particular, hoping someone would take pity on his condition to give him money.
The physically-challenged man, who could not engage in gainful labour or employment, and so had to depend on the generosity of well-meaning persons, thought he knew what he wanted: money. But Peter, identifying the man’s true need – which was to be able to walk so he could earn a living, focused on providing what he needed. So, the man who asked for a handout from Peter and John, received a hand up: the ability to walk.
This story typifies God’s dealings with us, His children. God’s omniscience – knowing what we need, and His heart of love – His desire to bless us, are what we can rely on as we make our requests in prayer.
Ephesians 3:20 is a popular verse because it is true and exciting:
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us”.
It records God’s generosity, as He provides beyond our requests and beyond our imagination. It also reveals that even when we do not know exactly what we need, nor could we even imagine what could be possible, because God knows what our exact needs are, He is able to provide for them.
Just as the man at the Gate Beautiful who thought he needed money from strangers was given far more than spare change – the ability to walk and so to earn his own money, so the Lord gives us more than what we ask or even imagine; and He is right on the mark because he knows our true needs.
I am still learning what Ephesians 3:20 means, but I have come to expect that He provides in ways I could never imagine, and so, I have made the decision to tell the Lord what I think I need, rather than ask for a particular provision.
You may ask: why would God bother to provide what I have not asked for, what I do not even imagine is possible?
May I suggest that the answer lies in the very popular scripture, Jeremiah 29:11:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
This is to say: it is because ultimately His greatest desire is to provide a meaningful life for you, that He plans, purposes, and provides for you, right on the mark, even when you are limited in what you ask or even imagine is possible.
So, whatever your situation, whatever your desire, or whatever your expectation, believe that God’s heart and His hand have you covered, even beyond what you may ask Him to provide, or what you imagine is possible.
