What Do You Want?

Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”

 Have you ever just read some verses that just, if you're honest, threw you for a bit of loop? Have you ever sat and read some verses and thought, “I wonder if what he is saying here is really what he means? Should I take this literally or not?”

For example:

Matt 21:22 “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

Or

John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.”

When it says, “whatever” does it really mean “ask whatever” and the Father will give it to you? Surely God doesn’t mean I can ask him for anything? Does he?

One of things I have found that I do lately when studying the Word of God is I ask myself and God questions. The best students ask questions. Not to be disrespectful but to better understand. So that is why I throw those questions out to you, because I have asked them myself.

I’ve read different commentaries trying to figure out if that word “whatever” really means what I think it does. Guess what? It does. It really does mean anything!

But here is the thing…

As we delight in the Lord our desires change and so therefore what we ask for changes. We begin to pray according to the will of God, and in return w are telling God what we desire and asking God for what we want, but this is the amazing thing, it is also at the same time His will to give you and I those very things we are asking for.

“When the heart of our desire and the desire of our hearts are in alignment then getting what we desire is inevitable.” – Beth Moore

It’s not that we get “whatever” we want when we want it like we are spoiled, bratty children who walk around pointing at things and say to God, “mine” or “I want that” and then throwing a fit when they don’t get it. That not it, all though that is what some of us do.

Like a good Father, God always and only gives good gives. He grants us the desires of our hearts when we delight in Him. The amazing thing about delighting in God is that when you and I truly do it changes our hearts. It’s inevitable! There is no way to be in His presence and delight in Him and not be changed!

But here is where I am going with all this. As we delight in the Lord our desires change, right? Well guess what? Even the reason behind what we want and why we want it changes.

Anyone’s brain hurt yet?

It’s an amazing thing this transformation thing!

I always use the example God gave me a few years ago, to help illustrate what I am saying. But, it comes in the form of a question.

Why do you want to be in a relationship? Better yet, why do you want to be married?

This was something I had been praying about for years, but never once did I stop and ask myself…why.

My immediate response was, “I don’t know why?” Never had really thought about the why behind this particular desire before.

After sometime I found out why, but quickly also realized I couldn’t look to a relationship or any person for that matter to be what only God could be. No guy or girl is God. So don’t expect them to be. 

God began to work in my heart to change the reason (the heart of my desire) I wanted a relationship.

“If God is withholding a true desire of your heart is because he is on top of the heart of your desire.”- Beth Moore

First time I heard that I had to think on if for a good few minutes; thats why I like Beth Moore, she makes me stop and think. All that means is that if there is something you desire and God seems to be withholding there is a good chance it’s because he is working on the reason why you want what you want so bad. He’s on top of what’s driving that desire in the first place.

I finally came to a place where I desired marriage for the right reasons. The desire remained but the reason had changed.

Here is the tricky part: what happens when we pray for something and ask for something and it doesn’t happen or we don’t get an answer to our prayers (or so we think). Maybe it was the healing of a family or friend. Maybe God didn’t heal them the way you would have liked. There are so many people that turn away from God because of lose of a loved one. That’s a sensitive issue I don’t even want to try and tackle here, but I will say this much.

God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. He thoughts are higher than our thoughts. His ways higher than our ways. I remember at my dad’s best friend’s funeral the pastor said something that forever changed how I saw healing.

He said, “We all prayed for Tehran’s healing. We all wanted him to stay here with us. But, God did heal him. He is now in heaven. He has no more pain. He is healed. Our prayers were answered. Just not in the way we thought.”

Whether we understand or not God knows what He’s doing. He didn’t remove the thorn in the flesh that Paul had. God has such a bigger plan, and even if he doesn’t answer our prayers the way we like or when we like it doesn’t make him any less good. He is God. Not a genie that we get to tell Him what to do. We are created by Him and for Him! We are the created and He is the Creator. It’s important to remember whose running the show! Just sayin’.

Anywho, I know that a sensitive subject so I won’t say more than that. Preserver by means, in prayer. Walk by faith, but also trust in the heart and character of God.

It’s just become such a motive tester for me when I read words like, “ask whatever” or  “what do you want?”

It causes me to pause for a second and look at why I am asking what I am asking in the first place.

Why do I want what I want?

I’ll end with these questions to allow for you to sit on and stew for a while. ;)

Why do you want what you want? Are you honestly okay with whatever the answer will be or whatever the outcome is?

Sometimes what we want or desire doesn’t come in the form we thought!