Psalms 37:4-5: “Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this:”
This is one of my favorite, personal Bible verses. I used to think of this verse as a magic lamp of sorts. If I obey God just enough, then He will grant me whatever I desire, as long as it is within reason.
However, the more I really considered what this verse was saying, the more I fell in love with its real promise. God does not promise to grant my every wish and desire, and honestly, I do not really want that. Then I am nothing more than a selfish, spoiled child. God’s plan for my life is much bigger than that. God wants me to trust Him and His plan, not myself, in all situations. He wants me to really believe that He knows what is best for my life and then live as though I believe that.
When I realized that truth, I started praying differently for the true desires of my heart. Instead of just asking God for favors and pleading with him to grant my requests, I started asking Him to either allow me what I was asking, if it was truly His will for my life, or to please change my desires to match what His will was for my life. It was then that I realized either answer brought a peace that ran much deeper than what having my original request answered ever would. And, knowing that God was the One ultimately in control of the circumstances of my life made whatever answer given that much sweeter.