Who could know what we need better than ourselves, right? Often that is the mindset most of us carry. Believing that we know just what we need because we can see every aspect of our lives. So as scripture instructs we take our needs to God and make them known to Him. Trusting that His word is true and that He will hear and answer them. But I venture that we not only need to pray for what we believe we need in our lives but what we don’t know we need.
I realize how strange that statement can sound but think about it like this no one, except God, knows what lies ahead. We simply can’t see what is coming all we can pray for is what we see. So we say our prayers without knowing what we will truly need to face tomorrow. For instance, at the opening of 2020, no one saw the events that would soon follow. We prayed for the needs we could see but what we really needed was the preparation for what we couldn’t see. We needed to pray for the things that we didn’t know we needed. Last year taught us the tough lesson that we don’t know what tomorrow will hold so sometimes we simply need to pray for God’s will to be done.
James 4:13–14 (ESV)
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
You could also look at it like this, often we do not know we are sick until it is too late. Often people don’t go to the doctor expecting they have cancer but it is revealed from various tests to the shock of the patient. A diagnosis that will immediately send those who receive it into deep times of prayer seeking God’s touch. Yet, they had cancer for some time before the diagnosis and really needed God’s healing touch earlier but didn’t know they needed to pray for it. Unlike us though God does know exactly what we need because He is all-knowing and all-powerful. As scripture even points out God knows what we need even before we ask.
Psalm 147:5 (ESV)
5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
Proverbs 19:21 (ESV)
21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
Isaiah 55:8 (ESV)
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
Matthew 6:8 (ESV)
8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Our God is able to meet the needs we don’t even know we have yet and even prepares us for the trials we face before we can even see them coming. We see in part and small segments but God is able to see the whole from the beginning of time to the end of time. It is of course good to pray for the needs we know we have because that is what scripture tells us to do. So take the things you see as needs in your life to God and ask Him to move in your situation. The Bible says that He hears our prayers and is willing and able to answer them.
Philippians 4:6 (ESV)
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 (ESV)
17 pray without ceasing,
At the same time though we need to humble ourselves before the Lord. Admitting that He is greater than we are and knows what we need more than we do. We need to ask God to move in areas of our life that we cannot see. Praying for the things we don’t yet know we will need and the preparation to face what we don’t yet know lies ahead. Sometimes the best thing we can do in prayer is simply admitting that we need God more than the things we think we need. Which is just what it means to pray for what you don’t know you need.
Scripture is clear that there is power in prayer. Our prayers are able to have an effect on our lives and the lives of others. But we must understand that we often do not know what is best for us. Yet, we can trust that God does so when we pray for the things we don’t know we need we place our lives in His hands. Allowing Him to take us where He wants us to go which will be the best place for us. All we have to do is trust in the truth of scripture which says He makes all things work for the God of those who believe.
James 5:16 (ESV)
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
Romans 8:28 (ESV)
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
So as you enter your next time of prayer remember to not only pray for the things you think you need but that you also need to pray for what you don’t know you need. The truth is you may not even need the things you are praying so desperately for and that is why God hasn’t answered your prayers yet. Instead, His is blessing you with the things you don’t even know you need. Like health, safety, or even the right teaching to navigate the rough waters beyond the horizon. God knows what we need even when we don’t so let’s simply place our lives in His hands through prayer.
Visit Justin’s personal website Here. Or see articles from other writers we feature Here. Also, be sure to stop by our prayer wall.