S23P7 – The abundant life: provision
Mt. 6:7-8
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
These are the very words of Jesus Christ as He tells us how to pray. In these instructions, He says that the Father knows every one of our needs. He then goes on to list those needs in what is commonly referred to as a Lord’s prayer. The beginning of the sprayer states our most basic need. If we are to gain salvation, we must recognize and confess the holiness of God then submit to his will. Without that recognition and submission, we cannot come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The remainder of the prayer tells us the other needs we have, which God already knows and is faithful to meet.
Food is a need. Forgiveness is a need. The humility and grace to forgive others is a need. Deliverance and protection from evil are needs. When we pray as Jesus taught us to pray, we are not arranging flowery words into some poetry that we think will move the Father out of the beauty of our prose. What we are doing is reminding God of our needs and reminding him that we fully trust that He will meet them. Our prayers are not merely asking for help but confessing our trust. And as we continue to pray daily about our needs we continue to grow in our trust in God. We do not pray from a place of worry or anxiety; we pray from a place of security.
To have faith in God is to have faith in his abundant provision. We walk in a manner that shows the Father and the world that we trust that He will care for us and meet every need. Others should see in us not worried, anxious people. They should see in us those who walk with an assurance that defies expectation because we are confident in God’s abundant provision. Whether a spiritual need, a physical need or an emotional need, God will provide. Father, increase our faith in your abundant provision so that we may walk confidently and assuredly in the expectation that, while we sometimes may be in want, You will not let us remain in need.