Our key verse today deals with three fundamental aspects of prayer. The first part of which is the request. Yes, God knows what you need and want but that doesn't mean we do not need to request it nonetheless. God wants to make sure that WE know what we are asking for. Prayer is the development of our relationship with God. Remember, it is actually through the prayer process that we find the peace of God:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 6-7
We are naturally anxious about the things we want or need in our lives. It is an attack on our heart because we feel something we want or need will never come to pass. It is an attack on our mind because we start to believe our surroundings instead of the promises of God. But these verses are imploring us to simply present these concerns to God with thanksgiving and the peace of God which is beyond our mortal understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus! How can we be thankful in a request that has not come to pass? Because we have an expectancy about God and what He can do. Not necessarily that everything we ask for will be granted but that regardless of the answer we know that God is only working for our benefit:
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8: 28
The expectancy is not only in the power of God but in the goodness of God. Once we know and believe that everything in our lives God works out for our good, than it is far easier to accept the peace He wants us to have instead of the anxiety the world feeds us.
But look at the key verse again. How are these requests made of God by the Psalmist? He lays them before God. There is a subtlety and humility about it. Too often we can try and turn God into our own personal ATM. "God give me this God I want that." We do not lay the requests before Him as much as we foist them upon Him. And then we wonder why the answer is no. When we approach God with our requests, we must humbly lay them at His feet:
I have made everything; that's how it all came to be. I, the LORD, have spoken. The people I treasure most are the humble-- they depend only on me and tremble when I speak Isaiah 66: 2 (CEV)
They depend on me. Once again reaffirming the need to not have a divided loyalty when approaching God. The second fundamental aspect of prayer from our key verse is the word wait. Take a look at a child who asks for a treat and is told to wait. They are pouting, upset, unsure if they will even get what they asked for. That must be how God sees us when we are told to wait. We live in a microwave society where we want what we want and usually, we want it yesterday. God does not operate in our time however. He knows exactly when we need what we think we need right now. Unfortunately, we are some of the most impatient people on the planet sometimes. The verses immediately preceding the divided loyalty verses however show us what patience can do for us:
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. James 1: 2-4 (NKJV)
