Is God Granting the Desires of Your Heart?
Consider Where the Desires of Your Heart Come From
Excuse me while I age myself a bit by recalling the craze of the Cabbage Patch Kids during the mid-1980s. It would be one thing if I could claim to have been a child wanting such a doll at that time. But, no, I must confess I had a child who wanted one of those dolls back then.
At the height of the craze, it seemed adopting a Cabbage Patch Kid was the desire of the heart of every little girl. And my little girl was no different than the rest. There was nothing she wanted more than a Cabbage Patch doll. But the manufacturer could not keep up with the demand. It is reported that some people stood in line in the rain at a Toys ‘R Us store on November 25, 1983, waiting for three hours to pick up a Cabbage Patch doll (Cabbage Patch Kids: 20 fun facts you may not know | Newsday, accessed March 15, 2021).
You may have noticed the significance of that date. Yes, that was Black Friday in 1983. Everyone was trying to get their hands on a Cabbage Patch Kid before Christmas. Since my husband and I both worked and did not have the freedom to stand in line when stores opened each day in order to buy one of that day’s supply of dolls, I was sure my little girl was going to be heartbroken. Would God not grant the desire of my little girl’s heart? Well, I won’t proclaim that it was God, but a dear relative was able to get the doll for my daughter so her heart wasn’t broken after all!
Little girls were not the only people who had their hearts set on things. In 1980 Keith Pringle released his “True Victory” album that earned him a Grammy Award nomination. The album included the song “Call Him Up” written by Herman Netter and Rickey R. Grundy. This was considered a worship song that repeatedly encouraged the hearers to call up the Lord if they confess Him and believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The bridge paraphrased Psalm 37:4 proclaiming, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of thine heart.”
Praying for the Desires of Your Heart
For many years I have heard people pray, “Lord, grant her the desire of her heart.” I will admit I took up that prayer on occasion without understanding the source of it. Then one day I read it. King David prayed that prayer in Psalms 20:4 (NIV), “May He give you the desire of your heart and make all your plans succeed.” In Psalm 145:16 King David praised God for satisfying the desire of every living thing.
Have you prayed this prayer? Do you believe God will satisfy your every desire? Are there any caveats?
Let’s consider how the desires of our hearts develop.
The apostle Paul explained sin will produce in us “every kind of covetous desire” (Romans 7:8 BSB). James described the process of sin in our lives stating, “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15 NIV).
Although these verses are a little bit circular … which comes first, the desire or the sin … both of these verses speak in terms of our flesh influencing our desires. If the desires of our heart are driven by our flesh, do we want God to grant the desires of our heart and would He do so?
Where the Desires of Your Heart Come From
Although King David prayed that God would grant the desire of your heart and proclaimed a promise that He would give the desires of your heart (Psalm 20:4 and 34:4, respectively), is it possible we have misunderstood these verses? Or, at the very least is there a better way to apply them?
The desires we feel come from one of two places: 1) Our flesh; and 2) God. And we can analyze our desires, or the desires of other people we wish to pray for, to determine whether they are desires of the flesh or desires God has given us.
The flesh is the sensuous, human nature of man. The desires of the flesh are those that any person might have, whether they live a godly life or not. Examples include money, attention, retributions against one’s enemies. These desires may also be contrary to God’s teachings. When not guided by the Holy Spirit, these desires are hostile to God, inconsistent with His will, and do not please God (Romans 8:7-8).
When given an opportunity to ask for anything he wanted, King Solomon did not ask for wisdom, wealth, riches, honor, the death of His enemies, or long life (2 Chronicles 1:11). These things were fleshly desires and were inconsistent with God’s will.
Desires that come from God are consistent with His teachings and are likely inconsistent with the natural desires that any person might have, whether they live a Godly life or not. Examples of godly desires that are inconsistent with our natural, fleshly desires are wanting a closer relationship with God, the desire for Jesus to be glorified in our lives, striving to walk according to God’s teachings. These are desires God puts in our hearts.
We can see King Solomon’s desire for wisdom came from God because it was consistent with God’s will. This request pleased God so much that in addition to granting this godly desire, He also gave the fleshly desires of riches, wealth and honor (2 Chronicles 1:12).
A Better Way to Pray About Desires of Your Heart
Consider Nehemiah’s strong desire to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after he learned the walls remained broken and the gates burned causing the remnant that still lived in Jerusalem to be in great affliction. The book of Nehemiah, which is written in memoir form, declares in chapter 2, verse 12 that God had put the desire in Nehemiah’s heart. Also according to chapter 7, verse 5, God had put it in his heart to gather the people together to establish a genealogy. Clearly, Nehemiah credited God for giving him the desire to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and for recording a genealogy.
Yes, God gives the desires of the hearts of those that delight in Him per Psalm 37:4. Also, He fulfills the desires of them that fear Him according to Psalm 145:19. Did Nehemiah fear the Lord? Absolutely. How do we know? By Nehemiah’s reaction to the news that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and the remnant of the Hebrews that had escaped the exile were in great trouble and reproach as recorded in Nehemiah 1:4-6.
What is the fear of the Lord? It is reverence and worship. Upon hearing about the walls and the people, Nehemiah wept, mourned for several days, fasted, and prayed to God. He also confessed the sins of the children of Israel, including himself in that confession. He showed reverence to God and worshiped Him: “O Lord God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments” (Nehemiah 1:5). This is the reaction of one who fears the Lord!
When King David prayed that God would give the desires of your heart, could it be he was praying God would put the desires into your heart as we saw He had done for Nehemiah?
Consider how King David prayed in 1 Chronicles 29:18-19.
O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee: And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart, to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision.
King James Version / Amplified Bible Parallel Edition, Grand Rapids, MI: The Zondervan Corporation, 1995.
This is a better way to pray … that God give specific desires to His people. We know according to Psalm 145:19 that when God gives those desires and the people fear Him, He will fulfill the desires of the people.
If we have been asking Him to satisfy specific desires and He has not done it, I encourage you to analyze whether the source of those desires is flesh or God. If flesh, then ask God for an increased level of the fear of the Lord and watch your desires become aligned with the will of God. That is when God will begin fulfilling the desires.
Pray for your loved ones as David did for Solomon, that God will keep the thoughts of their hearts and prepare their hearts for Him, putting the desire in their hearts to keep His commandments and do all things according to what God has purposed for them. You can also pray this prayer for yourself. In doing so, you can have confidence that God will give you the desires of your heart.
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