Can you ask God for the desires of your heart? Psalm 37:4 makes it seem as though God comes through on all our prayers, but this isn’t exactly the case. Let’s explore why.

I’ve been reading scripture with my children every morning. Usually only one scripture a day – but each day weaves into the next so the scriptures aren’t solitary. We talk about the previous day or week and how they work together.

This is important when studying scripture, because the Bible isn’t a dictionary where we can read one verse and use it on its own. There are many scriptures in the Bible that can be misinterpreted when used in singularity!

This is also why I don’t encourage one scripture a day, unless they form a plan or are studied in relation to the rest of the Bible! (Read more about it here).

Psalm 37:4 is a perfect example of this. If we read this verse on its own, it reads as “trust God and He will give you what you want.”

This is completely untrue, not because this verse is untrue or the Bible is incorrect but because when the verse is taken out of context, from this passage and from the Bible as a whole, it can be misconstrued.

Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

NIV

Let’s unpack this verse so we understand what it’s saying (and why God doesn’t give the desires of the heart).

There are two parts to this scripture. The first is very important: Take delight in the Lord.

To take delight in something is to enjoy it, to seek it, to trust it. It means to have faith in God.

And when we trust God, when our entire being is aligned with Him, walking in His footsteps and abiding by Him, then our hearts will also be in tune with Him.

This is where the second part of the verse comes in.

He Will Give You the Desires of Your Heart

The desires of our hearts shouldn’t be our earthly desires. This isn’t a wish list of items that we ask God for; a bigger house, a better job, new shoes and so on.

The desires of our heart should be what God desires for us.

It’s a bit of a brain twist to think about. When we ask for things, they should be things God wants us to ask for. Not because He wants to impose His will on us, but because His good things are beyond our understanding.

In other words, the desire of our hearts should be to honour God.

James 1:6-8 does a good job of explaining why. I usually like the ESV version but in this case, the NLT explains it well.

But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

There we see again that when we ask God for something (the desires of our hearts), we need to be asking Him with faith that is for Him alone.

We can’t ask God for something while also holding onto worldly values or desires. We need to whole-heartedly ask God for His wisdom and desires. Because those should be our own desires.

Can We Ask for What We Want?

The question remains: Can we ask for things we want?

The answer: absolutely. We can pray for healing, we can pray for new vehicles, we can pray for new jobs. We can cast our cares and desires on God because He wants to hear them. These are conversations we can have with God.

Not so much as a petition, but as a way to discuss God’s greater plan.

I often find myself in my kitchen praying these kinds of prayers. My days are busy and sometimes news reaches me while I am cooking or doing dishes. I can’t always stop and go into a quiet space to pray so my kitchen has seen prayers and tears.

I received news from my brother and sister-in-law while standing in my kitchen. They were at the hospital and in labour, just barely 31 weeks.

As you can imagine, my prayer that day was that God would bring that little girl into the world and give her strength and healing so she could know the love of her family and her Heavenly Father.

But as I prayed that prayer, I also sought God’s will. I knew that prayer came with implications. A premature baby meant weeks in the hospital. It meant my brother, sister-in-law and nephew would have to endure months of difficulty. Days away from home. Juggling work schedules with hospital visits and entertaining a busy toddler while their hearts constantly prayed for healing and strength.

So as I prayed for that little girl I was seeking God’s wisdom. And I prayed for her parents, her brother, her grandparents and aunts (me!) and uncles. I prayed that their support system would be strong so they could carry their little family.

The things we want may be good things, but that doesn’t mean they are easy. So when we pray for the desires of our heart, we need to have a heart for God so we can ask for wisdom. We need to know what else needs prayed for, so we don’t blindly ask for something without realizing what comes with it.

Seek God First

Take delight in the Lord first. Spend time with Him everyday so you learn what His voice, His nudging sound like. Quiet yourself when you reach difficult waters so you can hear His wisdom.

Then, when you bring your desires to Him, you will know they come from a place of faith, a place of understanding and place that is ready to hear what else God has to say.

God gives good things. Sometimes they come in small packages, sometimes they come after days of trial. But His gifts aren’t given without a string attached. The string we need to hold on to, the lifeline to Him.

When we pray, when we seek Him, we seek His desires. When we pour our hearts out to Him we can trust He wants to hear so He can share the greater desires He has for us.

The next time you pray for something, ask God to open your heart to His desires and understand what His plan is for your life!

What are the desires of God’s heart? Not sure how to pray over your life or the life of your family? Get my 30 day guide “Pray Over Your Home,” which will give you 30 days of scriptures, prayers and daily videos to encourage you. Over the course of the month you will establish God as the authority of your hoe, pray protection over your family but also pray for direction and God’s purpose. Be the prayer warrior of your space, start today.