Psalm 37:4

Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Do we receive all that we ask from the Lord? Of course not. Many things that we ask for may not have been for God’s good pleasure but for ours. Remember that God knows what we need even before we go to Him in prayer: Matthew 6:7-8 “But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” Besides, shouldn’t we claim what the Apostle Paul claimed in Philippians 4:11 “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” You see, Psalm 37:4 is speaking to anyone who is truly a child of God, or someone who our Lord is graciously calling. It becomes the desire of our hearts to seek the Lord in prayer, asking Him to fulfill our desires now that we desire that which God desires. This might be a bit confusing but before we become saved our heart is darkened and our eyes only look upon what our darkened heart desires. Only when God has taken the stony heart out of our flesh and given us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26) do we then desire the things of the Lord. For example we read in James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” After a person becomes saved he or she should experience a craving to learn more of the Word of God, this prompts us to ask the Lord to give us wisdom in discerning the things we find in His Word, and James 1:5 instructs us to go to Him in prayer. Just one more point to make sure we’re clear on what God means when He say’s He will give us the desires of our hearts. The Hebrew word that is being translated ‘desire’ here in the Old Testament is also translated ‘petitions’ in Psalm 20:5 “We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.” In this context we see readily that salvation is totally in view, so we are very sure that God only grants the desires of the heart of those who have been born again. God places within us His desire when He saves us, thus our wants and pleasures are His wants and pleasures.

Pastor Alfred J. Chompff