“Tell the people: Consecrate yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you wept in the Lord’s hearing, ‘Who will feed us meat? We were better off in Egypt.’ The Lord will give you meat and you will eat. You will eat, not for one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes nauseating to you—because you have rejected the Lord who is among you, and wept before him, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’” – Numbers 11:18-20
In Numbers chapter 11 the Israelites began to complain to God. He had brought them out of slavery, parted the sea for them, and was now raining down bread from heaven six days a week. But they wanted more. They wanted meat to eat. They were not satisfied with God’s plan or his provision. They wanted their own desires to be fulfilled. The Lord responded by basically saying, “You want meat? I’ll give you so much meat that it will make you sick!” The people thought they knew what was best for them. They thought that God was there to fulfill all their demands and give them everything they wanted. They were wrong.
J.I. Packer once said, “The prayer of the Christian is not an attempt to force God’s hand, but a humble acknowledgement of helplessness and dependance.” In our day, many Christians believe that God desires to give you everything you want if you just pray hard enough. But very rarely are our desires the best plan for our lives. Can we not trust the One who has rescued us from the slavery of our sin to also provide every good thing we need, even if we do not understand his plan? Your prayers are meant to confess dependance on God for provision, not inform him what it is he should be providing. It is healthy and good to express your needs and desires to God, but always with the same submissive heart as our Savior; “Not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42).
Loving, powerful, and perfect Father, provide for me however You see fit. You have given Your Son to save me and so I commit all other aspects of my life into Your hands.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Shane Cannon
