by Mark Altrogge@I used to think that God was so busy managing the cosmos, he didn't have time for my peewee concerns.
I thought that if I asked him for money to pay the bills, he'd shout down at me, "Can't you see I'm directing the destinies of nations? Away with you and your petty requests."
Jesus taught us that when we pray we should make our Father's honor and kingdom our first concerns. But our Father who is both rich and generous also wants us to bring our daily needs to him.
In Luke 11:3 Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us each day our daily bread". What could be more down to earth than bread?
R. Kent Hughes says, “We are not to use the Niemann Marcus catalog as our daily devotional guide. One of the sweet realities of our prayer life is that God cares about the simple, day-to-day needs of life. He cares whether his children are warm, fed, and housed. He is concerned for our well-being, including those things necessary to maintain a whole, happy family.”
God doesn’t limit us to praying for big things – he invites us to ask him for a new coat or new tires, money for groceries or tuition or vacation.
Here is an amazing truth: God gets glory by meeting our smallest needs. God's sign reads: "No job too big, no job too small."
My friend Bob bought a "new" used truck. His previous truck bed was 7 feet long but the new one was 6. This rendered his 7-foot truck cap 1 foot too long for his new truck. So he prayed about the situation. The audacity - praying about a truck cap. Doesn't God have enough on his mind without being bothered about Bob's truck cap? One day Bob saw a truck pull into the parking lot where he works. He noticed that the cap on that truck's 7-foot bed was a foot too short. So Bob approached the man, whom he'd never met, to ask him if he'd be interested in a swap. Amazingly, both Bob's cap and this man's cap were the same brand and both fairly new. They were able to trade caps and each fit perfectly.
One of the ladies at a "Caring Sisters" party in our church shared how the Lord used her sister in Christ to give her very specific gifts that she had secretly desired, but could not afford. Among them: a pair of earrings on the day she came to church with none on; a new watch when she hoped for one; and a spoon rest after a fleeting desire for one had crossed her mind in her kitchen that week. God gave her a spoon rest! How specifically and tenderly the Lord cares for us! And if he provides these material things, think how eager He is to meet us in our souls. (Thanks to Sarah B for sharing this).
We need daily provisions of wisdom, strength, joy. God invites us to make our requests known to him and bring our needs to him. So seek first God's glory and his kingdom, then ask him for whatever you need each day. And watch him provide!
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