GOD SPEAKS THROUGH
OUR HEART’S DESIRES
God speaks to us through the sanctified desires of our
heart. I’m not saying that everything on our “want list” is
from God, but when we long in our heart for the works of
the Spirit to operate in our lives, we know God is leading
us in His plan for us. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself
also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and
secret petitions of your heart.” This works two ways: yes,
He gives us what we long for, but He also puts a longing in
our heart for things He wants us to have.
We need to ask God to give us sanctified, or holy, desires.
The Word says we are to eagerly pursue and seek to
acquire love, and earnestly desire and cultivate spiritual
endowments (see 1 Corinthians 14:1). We are to yearn for
sanctified desires—not carnal desires!
The desires of the flesh are opposed to the desires of the
Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are opposed to the
godless human nature (see Galatians 5:17). God puts a
desire in us for something that will bring His
righteousness, peace, and joy to situations in our lives (see
Romans 14:17).
When God leads us to do something, there is growing zeal
in us to see it achieved. Thinking about doing it motivates
us. It is extremely different from desires of the flesh,
because lusting for selfish pleasures leaves us tormented.
But the inner drive for God’s desires exhilarates us with
enthusiasm.
Therefore, we see that even in waiting we need balance.
We also sense a deep peace if the desire we have is truly
from God and not merely a fleshly desire. I know God
often leads us by desire, and yet I was hesitant to add this
section about desires in the book because I do not want
people to think that everything they desire is something
they should have.
There are desires of the Spirit, and there are fleshly,
carnal desires—right and wrong desires. We can desire
something that isn’t necessarily wrong in and of itself,
and yet, it may be wrong for us.
I have asked God on several occasions what He wanted
me to do about a specific thing, and He has responded in
my heart, “Do what you want to do.” The first time I heard
Him say that, I almost rebuked it as being from Satan. I
was afraid to believe God would give me that kind of
liberty, but I know now that He gives more and more
liberty as people grow spiritually into a state of maturity.
All I needed to do was think of my own children. When
they were young and inexperienced, I made all their
decisions for them. As they got older and more mature, I
let them do more of what they wanted to do. They had
been around Dave and me for a long time and were
beginning to know our heart. Now all four of our children
are grown, and most of the time they do what they want
to do and rarely ever offend us because they know our
heart and act accordingly.
After we walk with God for a number of years, we get to
know His heart, His character, and His ways. If we are
committed to following them, He can give us a greater
liberty because we start acting as though we are “one
with Him.” Our spirit becomes filled with His Spirit, and
our desires begin to merge with His. In John 10:30 Jesus
said, “I and the Father are One.” In John 8:28, He said, “I
do nothing of Myself (of My own accord or on My own
authority), but I say [exactly] what My Father has taught
me.”
In 1 Chronicles 17:2 we see that Nathan the prophet told
King David to do all that was in his heart, for God was
with him. At the time he said this, David was making
preparations to build a tabernacle for God to dwell in. In
verse 4 the prophet delivered a direct word from God
saying that David was not to build the tabernacle, because
God had assigned that task to another.
The thing that has always interested me about this
particular situation is that it appears that the “normal”
method of operation between David and God was for
David to do what was in his heart, and God would be with
him. Then obviously in this situation we see that God had
another plan, and so He interrupted David’s plan to build
a house for Him. He even told David later that it was good
that he had it in his heart, but that it was not His will for
him to build it. He had chosen David’s son Solomon to do
it.
When I was learning how to hear from God and desiring
with all my heart to be led by the Spirit, these verses
really helped me to realize that we can move about with
some degree of freedom following our sanctified desires,
as long as we are ready to immediately go in another
direction if God shows us we need to do so. It is not wrong
to have a plan and follow it… if we are willing to give up
our plan when God does not approve of it.
In John 15:7 Jesus said, “If you live in Me [abide vitally
united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue
to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall
be done for you.” How can this be possible unless there
really is a merging of our desires with God’s as we mature
in Him?
The goal of every true believer is to be one with God.
The goal of every true believer is to be one with God. It
happens spiritually when we are born again, and it occurs
in mind, will, and emotion as we grow and mature
spiritually. In Ephesians 4:15 the apostle Paul urges us,
“Let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him
Who is the Head.” As we do so, our desires become His
desires, and we are safe in following them.
The call that Dave and I have to our ministry is a good
example of how God has led us by the desires of our
heart. We couldn’t travel every weekend, stay in hotels,
and be gone from our family if our desire was not God
given. God has put such a strong desire in us that we are
motivated to make any sacrifice necessary or overcome
any opposition that may come against us in order to
accomplish God’s will for us.
Sometimes simple desires come to us from God, because
He likes to bless us. He sometimes puts desires in us for
the things He wants to give us. His Word says, “What
things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24 KJV).
Several years ago God was dealing with me about being
sweet and kind. I had been going through a rough time,
and the Lord said to me, “Now just be a sweetheart; just
be a sweetheart.”
Later, in a meeting, a lady came up to me and gave me a
bangle bracelet, saying, “This is my favorite bracelet, but I
believe God told me to give it to you.” It had a word
written on it in what looked like a foreign language. I
asked, “What does this word mean?”
She said “Well, I got this bracelet in Hawaii, and this is the
Hawaiian word for ‘sweetheart.’” I knew then that God
was giving me the bracelet as confirmation that He was
dealing with my attitude.
I wore the bracelet for many years. It was a little bit small
for me, and once I got it on, it was difficult, even
inconvenient, to get it off. I really had no release from
God to stop wearing it. Sometimes I wanted other
bracelets, but there was just no peace in me to buy
something else when I knew God had specifically given
me that bracelet as a reminder of His direction in my life.
When the carnal part of us wants something, but our
spiritual side is opposed, we need to wait for peace. When
God is moving us to do something, there is agreement in
both our carnal and spiritual desires. We should never
override our spiritual desires for something that only our
flesh demands.
After a few years I mentioned occasionally to Dave, “I
would like to get another bracelet.”
He would always say something like, “No, I like that
bracelet; it’s beautiful on you.” Or, “You don’t need
another one; you couldn’t find a prettier one than that.”
Then one day I was shopping, and a desire stirred within
me for a new bracelet. I hadn’t been thinking about
jewelry, and this desire was so sudden I felt it was from
the Lord. I said, “Well, Lord, if this desire is really from
You, I am just going to pray about it.” Spiritual desires will
motivate us to pray. I said, “God, I don’t want anything
except what You want for me. I don’t need a new bracelet
to be happy, but if You want me to have other bracelets,
then I pray that You will give them to me, in Jesus’ name.”
Then I went about my business.
I came home from that trip, and a couple of days later my
close friend Roxane and I were spending some time
together. She said to me, “I’ve got a present for you; it’s
something that I felt God told me to give you.”
I opened her gift to find a new bracelet.
She continued, “It probably doesn’t make sense to you
why I would buy a bracelet. I know how you feel about
the bracelet that you always wear. But I really believe that
God spoke to me to get this for you. So I ordered it some
time ago, and it just arrived.”
It is interesting that God spoke to Roxane, telling her to get
the bracelet, and while it was on its way, He put a desire
in my heart to receive it. We wouldn’t enjoy receiving
something if we didn’t desire it. Many times, God has put
a desire in my heart for something that He wanted to give
me.
The Bible says that God puts in us the desire both to will
and to work for His good pleasure (see Philippians 2:13).
We should pray for sanctified, holy desires. God puts
desires in us to lead us in the way He wants us to go. If we
desire to read the Word, then God is inviting us to read
the Word. If we desire to pray when we are watching
television, then God is speaking to us about the need to
pray.
As we read in John 15, we know that if we abide in Christ,
if we continue our relationship with the Lord and dwell
with Him over a period of time, His Word will abide in us.
Then we can ask whatever we desire, and He has
promised to give it to us.
To abide with Him is to “hang out” with Him, to live with
Him, to become like Him, and to nurture the desires He
puts in our heart, because that is His will for us. He puts
desires in our heart so we will pray and ask for those
things He wants us to have. Without prayer, God has no
vehicle through which to work.
If you sense that God has put certain desires in your
heart, then it’s important to pray and ask for those things
you desire. If you’re not sure whether your desires are
from Him, then say, “Lord, I believe You have put this
desire in my heart, and so I am asking You for it. But I can
be happy without it, because I am happy with You. Now it
is up to You to do whatever You want to do.”
Above all, remember that we are to be led by peace. No
matter how much we may desire something, if we don’t
have peace deep in our heart about it, then it is not right
for us.
OUR HEART’S DESIRES
God speaks to us through the sanctified desires of our
heart. I’m not saying that everything on our “want list” is
from God, but when we long in our heart for the works of
the Spirit to operate in our lives, we know God is leading
us in His plan for us. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself
also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and
secret petitions of your heart.” This works two ways: yes,
He gives us what we long for, but He also puts a longing in
our heart for things He wants us to have.
We need to ask God to give us sanctified, or holy, desires.
The Word says we are to eagerly pursue and seek to
acquire love, and earnestly desire and cultivate spiritual
endowments (see 1 Corinthians 14:1). We are to yearn for
sanctified desires—not carnal desires!
The desires of the flesh are opposed to the desires of the
Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are opposed to the
godless human nature (see Galatians 5:17). God puts a
desire in us for something that will bring His
righteousness, peace, and joy to situations in our lives (see
Romans 14:17).
When God leads us to do something, there is growing zeal
in us to see it achieved. Thinking about doing it motivates
us. It is extremely different from desires of the flesh,
because lusting for selfish pleasures leaves us tormented.
But the inner drive for God’s desires exhilarates us with
enthusiasm.
Therefore, we see that even in waiting we need balance.
We also sense a deep peace if the desire we have is truly
from God and not merely a fleshly desire. I know God
often leads us by desire, and yet I was hesitant to add this
section about desires in the book because I do not want
people to think that everything they desire is something
they should have.
There are desires of the Spirit, and there are fleshly,
carnal desires—right and wrong desires. We can desire
something that isn’t necessarily wrong in and of itself,
and yet, it may be wrong for us.
I have asked God on several occasions what He wanted
me to do about a specific thing, and He has responded in
my heart, “Do what you want to do.” The first time I heard
Him say that, I almost rebuked it as being from Satan. I
was afraid to believe God would give me that kind of
liberty, but I know now that He gives more and more
liberty as people grow spiritually into a state of maturity.
All I needed to do was think of my own children. When
they were young and inexperienced, I made all their
decisions for them. As they got older and more mature, I
let them do more of what they wanted to do. They had
been around Dave and me for a long time and were
beginning to know our heart. Now all four of our children
are grown, and most of the time they do what they want
to do and rarely ever offend us because they know our
heart and act accordingly.
After we walk with God for a number of years, we get to
know His heart, His character, and His ways. If we are
committed to following them, He can give us a greater
liberty because we start acting as though we are “one
with Him.” Our spirit becomes filled with His Spirit, and
our desires begin to merge with His. In John 10:30 Jesus
said, “I and the Father are One.” In John 8:28, He said, “I
do nothing of Myself (of My own accord or on My own
authority), but I say [exactly] what My Father has taught
me.”
In 1 Chronicles 17:2 we see that Nathan the prophet told
King David to do all that was in his heart, for God was
with him. At the time he said this, David was making
preparations to build a tabernacle for God to dwell in. In
verse 4 the prophet delivered a direct word from God
saying that David was not to build the tabernacle, because
God had assigned that task to another.
The thing that has always interested me about this
particular situation is that it appears that the “normal”
method of operation between David and God was for
David to do what was in his heart, and God would be with
him. Then obviously in this situation we see that God had
another plan, and so He interrupted David’s plan to build
a house for Him. He even told David later that it was good
that he had it in his heart, but that it was not His will for
him to build it. He had chosen David’s son Solomon to do
it.
When I was learning how to hear from God and desiring
with all my heart to be led by the Spirit, these verses
really helped me to realize that we can move about with
some degree of freedom following our sanctified desires,
as long as we are ready to immediately go in another
direction if God shows us we need to do so. It is not wrong
to have a plan and follow it… if we are willing to give up
our plan when God does not approve of it.
In John 15:7 Jesus said, “If you live in Me [abide vitally
united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue
to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall
be done for you.” How can this be possible unless there
really is a merging of our desires with God’s as we mature
in Him?
The goal of every true believer is to be one with God.
The goal of every true believer is to be one with God. It
happens spiritually when we are born again, and it occurs
in mind, will, and emotion as we grow and mature
spiritually. In Ephesians 4:15 the apostle Paul urges us,
“Let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him
Who is the Head.” As we do so, our desires become His
desires, and we are safe in following them.
The call that Dave and I have to our ministry is a good
example of how God has led us by the desires of our
heart. We couldn’t travel every weekend, stay in hotels,
and be gone from our family if our desire was not God
given. God has put such a strong desire in us that we are
motivated to make any sacrifice necessary or overcome
any opposition that may come against us in order to
accomplish God’s will for us.
Sometimes simple desires come to us from God, because
He likes to bless us. He sometimes puts desires in us for
the things He wants to give us. His Word says, “What
things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24 KJV).
Several years ago God was dealing with me about being
sweet and kind. I had been going through a rough time,
and the Lord said to me, “Now just be a sweetheart; just
be a sweetheart.”
Later, in a meeting, a lady came up to me and gave me a
bangle bracelet, saying, “This is my favorite bracelet, but I
believe God told me to give it to you.” It had a word
written on it in what looked like a foreign language. I
asked, “What does this word mean?”
She said “Well, I got this bracelet in Hawaii, and this is the
Hawaiian word for ‘sweetheart.’” I knew then that God
was giving me the bracelet as confirmation that He was
dealing with my attitude.
I wore the bracelet for many years. It was a little bit small
for me, and once I got it on, it was difficult, even
inconvenient, to get it off. I really had no release from
God to stop wearing it. Sometimes I wanted other
bracelets, but there was just no peace in me to buy
something else when I knew God had specifically given
me that bracelet as a reminder of His direction in my life.
When the carnal part of us wants something, but our
spiritual side is opposed, we need to wait for peace. When
God is moving us to do something, there is agreement in
both our carnal and spiritual desires. We should never
override our spiritual desires for something that only our
flesh demands.
After a few years I mentioned occasionally to Dave, “I
would like to get another bracelet.”
He would always say something like, “No, I like that
bracelet; it’s beautiful on you.” Or, “You don’t need
another one; you couldn’t find a prettier one than that.”
Then one day I was shopping, and a desire stirred within
me for a new bracelet. I hadn’t been thinking about
jewelry, and this desire was so sudden I felt it was from
the Lord. I said, “Well, Lord, if this desire is really from
You, I am just going to pray about it.” Spiritual desires will
motivate us to pray. I said, “God, I don’t want anything
except what You want for me. I don’t need a new bracelet
to be happy, but if You want me to have other bracelets,
then I pray that You will give them to me, in Jesus’ name.”
Then I went about my business.
I came home from that trip, and a couple of days later my
close friend Roxane and I were spending some time
together. She said to me, “I’ve got a present for you; it’s
something that I felt God told me to give you.”
I opened her gift to find a new bracelet.
She continued, “It probably doesn’t make sense to you
why I would buy a bracelet. I know how you feel about
the bracelet that you always wear. But I really believe that
God spoke to me to get this for you. So I ordered it some
time ago, and it just arrived.”
It is interesting that God spoke to Roxane, telling her to get
the bracelet, and while it was on its way, He put a desire
in my heart to receive it. We wouldn’t enjoy receiving
something if we didn’t desire it. Many times, God has put
a desire in my heart for something that He wanted to give
me.
The Bible says that God puts in us the desire both to will
and to work for His good pleasure (see Philippians 2:13).
We should pray for sanctified, holy desires. God puts
desires in us to lead us in the way He wants us to go. If we
desire to read the Word, then God is inviting us to read
the Word. If we desire to pray when we are watching
television, then God is speaking to us about the need to
pray.
As we read in John 15, we know that if we abide in Christ,
if we continue our relationship with the Lord and dwell
with Him over a period of time, His Word will abide in us.
Then we can ask whatever we desire, and He has
promised to give it to us.
To abide with Him is to “hang out” with Him, to live with
Him, to become like Him, and to nurture the desires He
puts in our heart, because that is His will for us. He puts
desires in our heart so we will pray and ask for those
things He wants us to have. Without prayer, God has no
vehicle through which to work.
If you sense that God has put certain desires in your
heart, then it’s important to pray and ask for those things
you desire. If you’re not sure whether your desires are
from Him, then say, “Lord, I believe You have put this
desire in my heart, and so I am asking You for it. But I can
be happy without it, because I am happy with You. Now it
is up to You to do whatever You want to do.”
Above all, remember that we are to be led by peace. No
matter how much we may desire something, if we don’t
have peace deep in our heart about it, then it is not right
for us.
GOD SPEAKS THROUGH
OUR HEART’S DESIRES
God speaks to us through the sanctified desires of our
heart. I’m not saying that everything on our “want list” is
from God, but when we long in our heart for the works of
the Spirit to operate in our lives, we know God is leading
us in His plan for us. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself
also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and
secret petitions of your heart.” This works two ways: yes,
He gives us what we long for, but He also puts a longing in
our heart for things He wants us to have.
We need to ask God to give us sanctified, or holy, desires.
The Word says we are to eagerly pursue and seek to
acquire love, and earnestly desire and cultivate spiritual
endowments (see 1 Corinthians 14:1). We are to yearn for
sanctified desires—not carnal desires!
The desires of the flesh are opposed to the desires of the
Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are opposed to the
godless human nature (see Galatians 5:17). God puts a
desire in us for something that will bring His
righteousness, peace, and joy to situations in our lives (see
Romans 14:17).
When God leads us to do something, there is growing zeal
in us to see it achieved. Thinking about doing it motivates
us. It is extremely different from desires of the flesh,
because lusting for selfish pleasures leaves us tormented.
But the inner drive for God’s desires exhilarates us with
enthusiasm.
Therefore, we see that even in waiting we need balance.
We also sense a deep peace if the desire we have is truly
from God and not merely a fleshly desire. I know God
often leads us by desire, and yet I was hesitant to add this
section about desires in the book because I do not want
people to think that everything they desire is something
they should have.
There are desires of the Spirit, and there are fleshly,
carnal desires—right and wrong desires. We can desire
something that isn’t necessarily wrong in and of itself,
and yet, it may be wrong for us.
I have asked God on several occasions what He wanted
me to do about a specific thing, and He has responded in
my heart, “Do what you want to do.” The first time I heard
Him say that, I almost rebuked it as being from Satan. I
was afraid to believe God would give me that kind of
liberty, but I know now that He gives more and more
liberty as people grow spiritually into a state of maturity.
All I needed to do was think of my own children. When
they were young and inexperienced, I made all their
decisions for them. As they got older and more mature, I
let them do more of what they wanted to do. They had
been around Dave and me for a long time and were
beginning to know our heart. Now all four of our children
are grown, and most of the time they do what they want
to do and rarely ever offend us because they know our
heart and act accordingly.
After we walk with God for a number of years, we get to
know His heart, His character, and His ways. If we are
committed to following them, He can give us a greater
liberty because we start acting as though we are “one
with Him.” Our spirit becomes filled with His Spirit, and
our desires begin to merge with His. In John 10:30 Jesus
said, “I and the Father are One.” In John 8:28, He said, “I
do nothing of Myself (of My own accord or on My own
authority), but I say [exactly] what My Father has taught
me.”
In 1 Chronicles 17:2 we see that Nathan the prophet told
King David to do all that was in his heart, for God was
with him. At the time he said this, David was making
preparations to build a tabernacle for God to dwell in. In
verse 4 the prophet delivered a direct word from God
saying that David was not to build the tabernacle, because
God had assigned that task to another.
The thing that has always interested me about this
particular situation is that it appears that the “normal”
method of operation between David and God was for
David to do what was in his heart, and God would be with
him. Then obviously in this situation we see that God had
another plan, and so He interrupted David’s plan to build
a house for Him. He even told David later that it was good
that he had it in his heart, but that it was not His will for
him to build it. He had chosen David’s son Solomon to do
it.
When I was learning how to hear from God and desiring
with all my heart to be led by the Spirit, these verses
really helped me to realize that we can move about with
some degree of freedom following our sanctified desires,
as long as we are ready to immediately go in another
direction if God shows us we need to do so. It is not wrong
to have a plan and follow it… if we are willing to give up
our plan when God does not approve of it.
In John 15:7 Jesus said, “If you live in Me [abide vitally
united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue
to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall
be done for you.” How can this be possible unless there
really is a merging of our desires with God’s as we mature
in Him?
The goal of every true believer is to be one with God.
The goal of every true believer is to be one with God. It
happens spiritually when we are born again, and it occurs
in mind, will, and emotion as we grow and mature
spiritually. In Ephesians 4:15 the apostle Paul urges us,
“Let us grow up in every way and in all things into Him
Who is the Head.” As we do so, our desires become His
desires, and we are safe in following them.
The call that Dave and I have to our ministry is a good
example of how God has led us by the desires of our
heart. We couldn’t travel every weekend, stay in hotels,
and be gone from our family if our desire was not God
given. God has put such a strong desire in us that we are
motivated to make any sacrifice necessary or overcome
any opposition that may come against us in order to
accomplish God’s will for us.
Sometimes simple desires come to us from God, because
He likes to bless us. He sometimes puts desires in us for
the things He wants to give us. His Word says, “What
things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24 KJV).
Several years ago God was dealing with me about being
sweet and kind. I had been going through a rough time,
and the Lord said to me, “Now just be a sweetheart; just
be a sweetheart.”
Later, in a meeting, a lady came up to me and gave me a
bangle bracelet, saying, “This is my favorite bracelet, but I
believe God told me to give it to you.” It had a word
written on it in what looked like a foreign language. I
asked, “What does this word mean?”
She said “Well, I got this bracelet in Hawaii, and this is the
Hawaiian word for ‘sweetheart.’” I knew then that God
was giving me the bracelet as confirmation that He was
dealing with my attitude.
I wore the bracelet for many years. It was a little bit small
for me, and once I got it on, it was difficult, even
inconvenient, to get it off. I really had no release from
God to stop wearing it. Sometimes I wanted other
bracelets, but there was just no peace in me to buy
something else when I knew God had specifically given
me that bracelet as a reminder of His direction in my life.
When the carnal part of us wants something, but our
spiritual side is opposed, we need to wait for peace. When
God is moving us to do something, there is agreement in
both our carnal and spiritual desires. We should never
override our spiritual desires for something that only our
flesh demands.
After a few years I mentioned occasionally to Dave, “I
would like to get another bracelet.”
He would always say something like, “No, I like that
bracelet; it’s beautiful on you.” Or, “You don’t need
another one; you couldn’t find a prettier one than that.”
Then one day I was shopping, and a desire stirred within
me for a new bracelet. I hadn’t been thinking about
jewelry, and this desire was so sudden I felt it was from
the Lord. I said, “Well, Lord, if this desire is really from
You, I am just going to pray about it.” Spiritual desires will
motivate us to pray. I said, “God, I don’t want anything
except what You want for me. I don’t need a new bracelet
to be happy, but if You want me to have other bracelets,
then I pray that You will give them to me, in Jesus’ name.”
Then I went about my business.
I came home from that trip, and a couple of days later my
close friend Roxane and I were spending some time
together. She said to me, “I’ve got a present for you; it’s
something that I felt God told me to give you.”
I opened her gift to find a new bracelet.
She continued, “It probably doesn’t make sense to you
why I would buy a bracelet. I know how you feel about
the bracelet that you always wear. But I really believe that
God spoke to me to get this for you. So I ordered it some
time ago, and it just arrived.”
It is interesting that God spoke to Roxane, telling her to get
the bracelet, and while it was on its way, He put a desire
in my heart to receive it. We wouldn’t enjoy receiving
something if we didn’t desire it. Many times, God has put
a desire in my heart for something that He wanted to give
me.
The Bible says that God puts in us the desire both to will
and to work for His good pleasure (see Philippians 2:13).
We should pray for sanctified, holy desires. God puts
desires in us to lead us in the way He wants us to go. If we
desire to read the Word, then God is inviting us to read
the Word. If we desire to pray when we are watching
television, then God is speaking to us about the need to
pray.
As we read in John 15, we know that if we abide in Christ,
if we continue our relationship with the Lord and dwell
with Him over a period of time, His Word will abide in us.
Then we can ask whatever we desire, and He has
promised to give it to us.
To abide with Him is to “hang out” with Him, to live with
Him, to become like Him, and to nurture the desires He
puts in our heart, because that is His will for us. He puts
desires in our heart so we will pray and ask for those
things He wants us to have. Without prayer, God has no
vehicle through which to work.
If you sense that God has put certain desires in your
heart, then it’s important to pray and ask for those things
you desire. If you’re not sure whether your desires are
from Him, then say, “Lord, I believe You have put this
desire in my heart, and so I am asking You for it. But I can
be happy without it, because I am happy with You. Now it
is up to You to do whatever You want to do.”
Above all, remember that we are to be led by peace. No
matter how much we may desire something, if we don’t
have peace deep in our heart about it, then it is not right
for us.
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