Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4).

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” It’s important to note that the Lord does not tell us to request strawberry shortcake or filet mignon, though he is certainly capable of providing such pleasures.

Praying for our daily bread is a request for God to provide our necessities, not to be mastered by every personal whim or fancy. But doesn’t this contradict His promise to give us the desires of our hearts? No. God does not contradict himself.

God’s promise to give you the desires of your heart follows His instruction to delight yourself in Him. If He is our greatest delight, then delighting Him will be our greatest desire.

God will inevitably fulfill such desires when we pray for our daily bread from Him. Jesus taught us that His provision of such necessities is what enables us to do the will of the Father (Jn. 4:34).  So, when we pray for daily bread, we are praying for whatever is necessary to fulfill God’s purposes. He is certain to provide this bread, and certain to fulfill our deepest desires to delight him in whom we most delight.

When we pray for whatever is necessary to fulfill God’s will, and delight in fulfilling His purposes, then, He not only gives what we most desire but more than we can ask or even imagine!

Prayer: Lord, help me to delight more in Your purposes than anything else in this world, knowing when I ask You for the daily bread to live for You, then You are pleased to give me everything needed to fulfill these desires of my heart.