“Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything! Tell God what you need and Thank Him for all that He has already done!” Philippians 4:6
Making our petitions known
The Bible teaches us that Our Father in Heaven stands ready to hear from us, through prayer, fasting and supplication, what we need Him to do in our lives.
We are told to ‘make our petitions known’ which in essence translates to talking to God through prayer, communing with His Holy Spirit. You see God is Our Father. He knows us inside and out!!! He created us. He knows our shortcomings and strengths. He knew and knows our weaknesses (as does Satan and his minions that are assigned to follow and study you). He knows our beginning, our end and all that comes between, even our temptations. And as any good parent, He watches over His own. He intercedes on our behalf. He thwarts many evils that come against us in the spiritual realm (“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world and against spiritual wickedness high places”–read Ephesians 6:12) His Love is ever present. It protects. It leads. It guides. It feeds. It nurtures. It desires that we be blessed. Renewed. Revived. And that we live in joy, peace and walk in The Spirit.
Many times when we pray we pray for foolish things–an expensive car instead of a practical one. A cache of money to live a luxurious life. That within your profession your work is the cachet among your peers. For worldly goods and success. A rich and handsome/gorgeous spouse. A mansion or jewelry to bask in. These things are the prayers of the immature, selfish Christian.
We should not ask God to do His part and we sit back and not do ours. Don’t ask God to help you lose weight and you are eating pound cake and Haagen Daaz. Don’t ask God to fight your battles and you want to take a seat on the sidelines and watch the show instead of standing and fighting empowered by Him on the battlefield. Don’t ask God for riches and you mismanage your little. Don’t ask God for a handsome/gorgeous and rich spouse when the hardworking, plain one that still loves you that He gave you is still living and in good working order but you just want an upgrade.
These types of requests are heard, and mostly denied for Your Own GOOD. Why? Because your Father KNOWS you!!! He knows that the granting of these desires, not needs may lead to the destruction of your very soul putting your spirit in jeopardy!!!
But in the case when these selfish petitions are granted, it may take you through trials and tribulations that can test your very faith and put you in the position to question why God is permitting/allowing you to “suffer through,” forgetting that you, yourself asked for and/or sought that ‘blessing,’ which became a curse to your soul. The lesson learned by you has now become your testimony, meant to be shared as a cautionary tale of warning to others! Be sure to share, for in your unselfish sharing you may be witnessing to another who may be at risk of falling into the same trap.
When we pray and make known unto God our requests, we should be ever mindful of God’s Will and His Word. In other words, our prayers should not be foolish or self-centered. But based on God’s promises and Word.
Lord Heavenly Father, we come humbly to your Throne of Grace today asking you to forgive us for any foolish or selfish petitions we made unto you. And thanking you for meeting our daily provisions of food (both spiritual and physical), shelter, health, peace of mind, family, joy and most of all Love. Father let these things be the basis of our daily petitions but let our first words to You be of gratitude for all that You have already done! For in truth, You have already done for us more than we deserve. Amen, Amen and thunderous Amen!!! 🙌🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾