What do you want? The Biblical way to get what you want

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This is a guest post by Cory Edwards. Cory is a professional song writer and the Music Director for a church in St. Louis.

If we’re doing our job as Christians, we die to ourselves every day. We kill greed, jealousy, and selfishness so we can become better servants of Christ. And if we’ve done our part, I believe God has a very specific question for us. It comes from James 1:6-8 NIV:

But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord: he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

So here is the question I believe God is asking us: What do you want?

“Want”, despite its appearance, is not a four-letter word. There is nothing wrong with wanting something, and wanting it badly. In fact, it seems that wanting something badly is almost a pre-requisite to asking God for anything. God is looking for a single-minded man or woman who will not accept anything but God’s best.

In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus tells the story of a woman who pleaded with a judge to grant her justice against her adversary. She wanted justice enough to be persistent. The judge refused for a while, but because of the woman’s persistence, granted her request. Jesus then asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8b NASB)

In the New Age movement, there is a lot of talk of synchronicity, that when a person makes a decision to do something the “universe” moves to bring it about. While I do not believe in a universe that grants requests, I absolutely believe that if we decide to do something, if we want something, if we set our mind, will, and emotions toward it, and if we have deliberately made sure it is God’s will and not our own, God will move if we pray.

This does not mean if a person desires a paid-off car, better job, or large retirement account that God requires nothing but a simple “I want.” But I am saying that God will help, and that He will move heaven and earth for the single-minded person who asks for it.

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Sam July 6, 2008 at 10:53 pm: I believe as a Christian, everytime we desire to “want” something, we need to think first if it brings glory to God. Anything else outside of that bound falls to selfishness and self-centeredness.
cory July 7, 2008 at 6:02 am: @Sam

Absolutely. That’s what I meant by “if we have deliberately made sure it is God’s will and not our own.”