If you had to name the desire in your heart, would you have an answer? How long would it take to express your deepest and most sincere longing?
John 16:23, 24
If you had to name the desire in your heart, would you have an answer? How long would it take to express your deepest and most sincere longing?
Of course, we all have an endless list of things we want, whether it's a big screen TV, a new vehicle, a job promotion, or the respect we think we deserve. We add and remove things to our wish list every day; our desires are often dictated by what the people around us have. Sometimes just seeing a friend's new car gives us "car fever," even if we have a great car.
Our desires come and go, but what of our true desires? If you have never taken the time to meditate carefully on this matter, you may not even know what your heart desires. And if that's the case, how can you ask God to grant them to you? The simple answer is that it will not be possible.
Not knowing what we really want leads us to present to God a series of random, incoherent, and insincere requests. Sometimes the Lord graciously responds to these requests, and other times He protects us from them. If our requests are not based on prayer and sincerity of heart, we may never understand why they remain unanswered.
Are you able to articulate the desire that is in your heart today? If not, take time to pray this week on this matter. First, ask the Lord to open your eyes to what He wants for you; and then, to change your heart so that you can appropriate those desires.