“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Philippians 4:19-20
Paul never forgot that God was The Source of provision for his every need. The supply to his most urgent need always came to him by means of human hands, but Paul knew what he received into his hands began in the heart of God. Generosity always does.
Paul didn’t take the meeting of His needs for granted. He took them to The Father in prayer. His statement of fact came right out of his daily journal and the experience of his faith.
“And my God will supply all your needs…”
These brief words reflect The Father’s all encompassing, abundant provision to the cry of a child. They give a picture of a vessel filled to the brim, a piece of ground saturated, an urgent cry for help answered, a loan granted, and a hunger satisfied. Paul promised that no entreaty would ever go untreated. The Father treated the entreaty of His children with abundant provision, that met the need and ended the crisis.
Paul readily thanked those who sacrificed in order to give to him. He knew they did so out of obedience to the voice of The Father. Giving God the glory for their sacrifice didn’t cheapen their gift. It honored them as obedient children. Every parent can understand what this means to The Father. Thanking His children didn’t rob God of the glory He deserved for prompting His children to share what He had placed in their hands. It pleased The Father. Obedience always does.
Perhaps the difference in understanding this verse of Scripture rests in a clear discernment between wants and needs. A wise parent decides what is best for their children. Giving children everything they want proves to be a short cut to disaster, not a roadmap to maturity.
“All your needs” refers to what is necessary for the business of the day to be conducted, or the adequate provisions required for the journey. For The Father’s children to be about The Father’s business, traveling light and living right make for an effective business trip and joy on the journey.
Selfish children are exhausting. They relentlessly require more and more from their parents to keep them satisfied. Wise parents discipline their children in order to transition them from childish immaturity to child-like maturity. Praying with them, and for them is a huge help in this process.
“And my God shall supply all your needs, out of His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” This is my wife’s Life Verse. Early on in raising our two daughters, Dana began pointing them to Jesus, and to prayer as the MINE SWEEPER in our home. If they wanted something, they were encouraged to pray about it, and let Jesus determine if it was a WANT or a NEED. This worked real well until they began to pray for a puppy. I pulled Dana aside, and told her, “I don’t WANT a puppy.” Her response was, “They could be praying for a pony.”
As I began to pray with my daughters about the NEED of their heart, it became a WANT of my own. Case closed. We got a puppy, but not a pony.
Jesus prayed, “Not My will, but Thy will be done.” Prayer remains the greatest way for the children of The Father to convert MINE into THINE.
Note to self: When you find yourself digging deeper and deeper into your own MINE shaft, stop digging.
Prayer is a walk with Jesus through a personal MINE FIELD. Racing ahead of Him leads to unnecessary explosions of WANT. Praying leads to staying with Jesus. Yield to His pace in the race. Maneuver around a NEED disguised as a WANT. TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!