What Do You Deserve?
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23
I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to call my mother and give her a message. After I finished telling her what the Holy Spirit had given me, I said a prayer. In the midst of the prayer, God said, “Do not ask for what you think you deserve because your thoughts are limiting your ask.” Those words hit me like a ton of bricks!
The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God — and that the cost of sin is death. I had to meditate on those words: Do not ask for what you think you deserve because your thoughts are limiting your ask. I deserve death, but because of God’s grace and His love for me, I can choose eternal life. In choosing Him, I receive all of His benefits — not because I deserve them, but because of His mercy. So why is my ask so small?
I started reflecting on a time when I wanted to purchase a really nice purse with lots of compartments. However, I didn’t want to pay the price because it felt unreasonable, considering all of our other expenses. My husband kept encouraging me to buy it, but I wouldn't do it. I had even prayed and talked to God about it, but I felt I should use the money more wisely.
Then one day, a dear friend called me. In the middle of our conversation, she said that she had bought a purse for herself but felt like God wanted her to give it to me. She had no idea I had been looking for a purse, so when she said this, I was in shock. When she gave it to me, it was the exact brand I had been eyeing — in its original designer bag — and it had all the compartments I had wanted.
I was so overwhelmed by God’s kindness that I was nervous about using it. I let it sit in my closet for a while. Ladies, you know the kind of purse I’m talking about — the one that comes with its own dust bag! But then one day, the Holy Spirit asked me, “Why are you so surprised that I would send you this purse? If you would take the limitations off of Me, I could give you so much more.”
I realized that I didn’t think I deserved that blessing from God. I felt like we hadn’t managed our money well enough for Him to give me something so extravagant. I had put limitations on my faith, basing what I asked God for on what I thought I deserved. God reminded me that He already knew about all of our mess-ups — past, present, and future. He died for them before we were even born. He’s not counting our sins against us — that’s something we put on ourselves. I remember hearing Joyce Meyer say, “It’s better to ask God for all the things you want and get half of them than to ask for nothing and get all of it.”
Scripture says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). In Hebrew, the word delight is anag, which means to be soft and pliable. If you have submitted your ways to the Lord, then the desires deep in your soul — the ones you can’t afford and don’t feel you deserve — are the very gifts the Father wants to give you.
James 4:2 tells us, “You do not have because you do not ask.” Asking God for the deepest desires of your soul has nothing to do with your ability — it has everything to do with God’s grace. He tells us to ask, and we shall receive. If we haven’t received, James reminds us that it’s because we ask with the wrong motives.
When we come to God, we should ask boldly, without basing our requests on our circumstances or feelings of unworthiness. God will never give you more than you can handle, and He will prepare you to manage the gifts He places in your hands. Receiving the blessing requires being responsible for it — and that’s part of the process.
Father, when we have a desire deep in our soul, we ask that You reveal to us whether it is from You or from our flesh. Cleanse our hearts so that when we pray, we have the right motive. If this desire is not from You, please remove it from the depth of our soul. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Key Takeaways:
Ask for big things that sit deep in your soul.
God’s blessings are not based on what we deserve.
Stop putting limitations on the blessings God has for you.
Affirmations: Matthew 10:20; Luke 24:32; Ephesians 6:19; Isaiah 55:11
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