50 Days of Prayer for Fellowship CRC
Phil. 4:19 - “And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
The theme of this week’s prayers is “curiosity in prayer,” and this verse should make us curious. Will God fully satisfy every need of ours? The answer of this passage, and of all of Scripture, is most assuredly yes. James, for example, explains it this way: “You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:2-3). This helps us understand not that we must keep asking our good God for what we need, but it also reminds us to sort out our needs from our wants. Jesus, in Mark 8:14-21, helps the young disciples to learn that he will care for their physical needs, as they should have already learned from the two miracles of the multiplication of bread. Read that passage and reflect carefully on it; Jesus would say the same thing to us, no doubt.
The context of Philippians 4:10-20 is all about our generosity in giving. No matter our financial situation, Christians are expected to be generous givers. Period. The Apostle Paul here makes it clear that he is not looking for more care for himself, but he knows there is great spiritual benefit to be obtained by being a generous giver. He commends these Christians of Philippi for having been generous, and hopes to propel them to even greater generosity by reminding them that God will supply their needs so that they may continue to keep on giving to the physical needs of others.
Having said all that, however, I would by no means limit the Apostle Paul's words only to our physical needs. Paul believed that God would supply all of the needs of that church and those Christians, and that he will supply all of our needs, too. This surely includes our spiritual, social, emotional needs, in addition to our physical needs, and our ability to meet the holistic needs of others around us—one of this church's five strategic directions.
Let’s pray:
Father God, giver of all good gifts, thank you that you have met our needs. Forgive us for the times we have withheld our giving because we wanted something for ourselves. Help us to trust you to provide all that we need, and to open our hands to give even when we are still waiting for your provision to come. Thank you that you will supply all of our needs. We also thank you today for the return of the George Hull Early-On drop in to our building, and ask that you bless the relationships that you will form from this collaboration. May it all be to your glory always. Amen.