So, What Do You Want? Finding the Abundant Life God Has for You

When God answers your prayers exactly the way you asked — is that always the best outcome? In this episode of the Confidence in God podcast, host Julie McGhghy explores what happens when God grants our requests, even when they fall short of His best for us.

We often think of answered prayer as a reason to rejoice, and many times it is. The Psalms are full of praise for God’s answered prayers. But Scripture also shows us that God sometimes gives us what we want — when what we want isn’t what He wanted for us. In this episode, we look at three biblical examples where God granted requests that were inconsistent with His will, and examine the consequences that followed.

We then turn to John 10:10 and John 15:7 to discover what the abundant life Jesus offers actually looks like and the key to obtaining it.

Resources: 

When Healing Doesn’t Come

So What Do You Want – Abundant Life Resources

Episode Timeline: Total Time 16:58

| 0:00 | Intro & welcome to the Confidence in God podcast
| 0:11 | John 10:10 & John 15:7 — Jesus’ promises of abundant life and answered prayer
| 0:55 | The question: Where is the abundant life even when prayers are answered?
| 1:42 | Answered prayers in the Psalms and songs of Moses, Miriam, Deborah & Barak
| 2:35 | Example 1 — The two and a half tribes settle east of the Jordan (Numbers 32)
| 4:42 | Example 2 — Israel demands an earthly king (1 Samuel 8)
| 5:13 | Example 3 — The Gadarenes ask Jesus to leave (Mark 5)
| 6:15 | Reflection: What do these examples teach us about God granting our requests?
| 6:43 | The rest of each story — examining the consequences
| 6:54 | Consequences for the two and a half tribes — captivity first (1 Chronicles 5:26)
| 8:13 | Consequences for Israel’s demand for a king (1 Samuel 12:16–18)
| 9:24 | Consequences for the Gadarenes — missing Jesus’ teaching and miracles
| 10:21 | Returning to John 10:10 & 15:7 — abundant life vs. our human nature
| 11:23 | What abundant life looks like according to Scripture
| 12:23 | The call: Don’t settle — pray as Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but thine be done”
| 13:04 | Placing our wants under God’s will and trusting His best
| 13:36 | The best part of abundant life — the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38)
| 14:17 | Recap & summary — lessons from all three examples (Ephesians 3:20–21)
| 15:17 | Closing prayer