How To Get What You Need From God

The idea of getting things from God can be a complex and controversial subject.  Understanding God’s process to receive from Him is extremely important and it's worth your time to learn and study it so that you can receive all God wants you to have.

Some people believe we can get anything from God, some people believe we can get nothing from Him, and others believe everything in between.  We teach our children to pray and ask God for things, but we also try to guide them into correct prayer and correct requests from God.  By “things” I’m referring to anything, not just material things.  How do we get what we need or even want from God?  How do we know what God wants us to have?  In this essay I’m going to show you the Biblical model to receiving from God so that you can use this process and receive everything you need from God.  There are potential debates virtually every step of the way, but if we dealt with them this essay would become a novel.  Today we are simply going to focus on the process, and I trust this will help someone get what they need from God.  

In this article we are going to define “need” as anything required to fulfill God’s plan for your life or something God has promised you in the Bible.  I believe that’s a very reasonable definition of your needs from God’s perspective.  You need those things to have the best possible human existence according to God’s Word.  I’m not saying that God won’t give you something that you “want” – but that is a different subject.  

The first step is identifying your need.  There are needs you know about and needs you don’t.  For example, you know about your physical needs.  You also know about your next level of needs such as friendship, purpose, employment, etc.  Sometimes you have needs that you don’t even recognize.  Some people are content in their situation but they really need a new job or a new place to live.  Although they are content, God knows they need a change to thrive or fulfill His calling on their lives.  

Understanding what you need in life will always involve input from God.   As you look to receive what you need from Him, go to Him in prayer.  Tell Him what you think your needs are and ask Him to reveal other needs to you.  He may remove some things from your list, and He may add to it.  I remember several years ago thinking that I needed a new job, but I really didn’t and He protected us and provided for us in that job which I still have.  However, last year He told me that it was time to change jobs, and so I’m praying for direction about that now.

Let’s come up with a need we can use to describe the process in the writing.  Let’s assume that you think you need a new car.  Your current vehicle is old, having problems, or no longer fits your family or lifestyle.  You need a car to get to work, church, etc.  The first thing to do is to go to God and make sure it’s really a need, that God agrees a different car would be better for your life.  “God, is it time to get a new car?  God, maybe I could keep fixing this one.  Maybe you will keep blessing this one and extend its life.  But You tell me if you think I need a new one.” 

I remember when my last car got over 100,000 miles.  God spoke to me in a dream that it was time to get a new car.  In that instance I needed a new car because God said I did.  On the outside the car looked fine, but for whatever reason God said it was time to trade it in.  Maybe He knew it was going to have problems.  I’ll never know because we got a new car! 

God will guide us in this area.  In fact, God will guide us into everything He wants us to have and everything He wants us to do (See 1 Corinthians 2).  We need to learn to hear from God clearly so we can receive His directions, but that’s also another subject.  The point is that we should go to God about the things we think we need so that He can guide our desires and our prayers.  If God agrees we need a new car, it’s going to form the basis for our faith for the new car (more on that later). 

I want to quickly point out that God may tell you it’s not time for a new car, just like it wasn’t time for me to get a new job those years ago.  At this point, you should move on and see if there are other needs in your life.  This is actually a major reason that people don’t receive all the things they pray for.  They aren’t taking the time to seek God’s will before they go to God in prayer.  People just start asking for stuff.  When you know that you are praying in agreement with God’s will for your life, then you can be assured you will get what you ask for.  If you start praying about something and sense that God doesn’t agree, then thank God for His direction and just move on.  Trust Him that He knows best.

Assuming that God does agree with your need, the next step is seeing what God’s Word says on the subject.  And remember, this applies to any kind of need.  Maybe you have needs in your body, in your family, in your job, whatever.  First discuss them with God, and after you receive His direction, go to the Word. 

For that matter, don’t feel like you have to wait for His direction to go to the Word.  Get started on that while you are praying and listening.  God may reveal His will to you as you study the Word on the subject.  If you are having chest pain, for example, you could see in Jeremiah 30:17 that God is a healer.  God is a healer, and you have pain.  Therefore you need to receive healing from God.

Let me just say that God’s Word can show us things we should have and therefore need to have the best possible life according to God’s plans for us.  God’s Word teaches that we should have peace in our homes (you might need a better relationship with your children) (Isaiah 54:13).  God’s Word teaches that we should have health in our bodies (you might need healing for a particular ailment) (Isaiah 53).  God’s Word teaches that we should have a stable financial life (maybe you need a raise or a better job) (2 Corinthians 9). 

If you have a great relationship with God, but a terrible relationship with your children, you aren’t living in God’s best for your life (and do you really have a great relationship with God?).  That’s just the plain and simple truth.  If you have great financial success, but your body is in terrible shape because of sickness, you aren’t living in all that God’s Word promises for you.  If you have major difficulties in any area of life, it’s going to be very hard to live out God’s calling and plan for you.  That’s just the way it is.  My point is that God wants you to have all He has promised so that your life can be complete and blessed in every area.  That’s God’s will for you, provision and success in every area of your life!  He doesn’t want that for you so you can just sit around relaxing and enjoying His goodness.  He wants you to be stable and comfortable so you can be a blessing to others and help them experience God and all He has for them.

Let’s go back to our hypothetical need of a new car.  Let’s now assume you have prayed about it and believe that God agrees you should get a new car.  But what does the Bible say?  Here is a great place to start - “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:19 KJV) 

“God, you’ve said I should get a new car.  Therefore, I need a new car.  I thank you that you will supply me a new car according to Your riches in glory.”

There you have a Biblical promise that God will supply everything you need.  It also says that He will do so according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  God isn’t going to give you a convertible if you live in Alaska.  He’s not going to give you a two door sports car if you have 10 kids.  He’s not going to give you some broken down junker that’s going to cost you thousands to repair.  He knows what you need, and He wants to give you a great car that will meet your needs. 

What about a more specific verse?  I love the general verses that can apply to all my needs like Philippians 4:19, but I like to have specific verses as well.  Did you know that one time Moses needed some new cars?  That’s right, read Numbers Chapter 7.  God showed me this the last time I needed a new car.  They didn’t have gas motors back then, but Moses needed some vehicles to transport the Tabernacle through the wilderness.  God brought Moses the carts and animals that He needed, and God will bring you the transportation that you need. 

Could the people have lugged all that stuff through the wilderness without those vehicles?  Probably, just like you could probably walk everywhere in life if you really had to, but that would make life very hard, harder than God intended for you.  God doesn’t want you to waste your time walking everywhere in this day and age (unless you live in the rare walkable community).  No, God wants you to have efficient and effective transportation to do His will.

So now we have a general promise and we also have a Biblical example.  We are getting on some good footing now.  “God, I can see that you provided vehicles for Moses when He needed them, and I thank you that You’re going to supply my vehicle too.” 

At this point you should begin meditating those verses and that story about Moses.  Read Joshua 1 and Psalms 1.  Biblical meditation is about concentrating your mind on God’s Word, reading it out loud and speaking it out loud over and over.  Concentrate.  Focus.  What do you see that you didn’t see before?  When something is revealed to you, that’s God giving you revelation and opening His Word to you.  Focus on that, you’re answer may very well be in that aspect of the story.  You’ll really see the importance of this practice when you read Joshua 1 and Psalms 1.  Here is what you should remember and practice (for the rest of your life), “meditation brings revelation, and revelation brings manifestation.” 

As you meditate, you are listening for the voice of God to reveal His will to you.  Go back to 1 Corinthians 2.  Read that passage a few times.  It’s extremely important.  Again, God’s Spirit will reveal everything God wants you to have and everything God wants you to do.  God knows the car He has for you.  God knows where it is and how to get it.  God wants to reveal this to you by His Spirit.  This is where it can get a little difficult and this is where it takes faith and patience. 

Look at Mark 11:24- “I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours.” (Mark 11:24 NLT)  Isn’t that an amazing verse?  I didn’t say those words, Jesus did.  You must pray and believe that you have received it, then it will be yours.  The verb tenses are key to understanding this verse.  First you pray, then you believe you received it, then you actually receive it into your hand.  Here is how it sounds, “Father God, I ask you for the car you have for me.  I thank you for it and I believe I receive it right now.  Please show me if I need to do anything to get it.  Thank you God.  In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.” 

That might sound a little crazy, but that is Biblical faith (See also Hebrews 11:1).  You have it before you have it.  To be even more technically accurate and a little deeper, first you have it in the spirit realm, then it manifests in the physical realm.  You must believe that you receive it first, then you actually will receive it.  Again, I appreciate that this sounds crazy, but that’s why very few people operate this way.  So pray and believe that you receive it, and you shall have it. 

Some of you would say to me, “Byron, I’ve received lots of things from God and I’ve never prayed that way.  I think that’s great.  I’ve received a lot of things from God outside of this system as well.  God is so loving and so amazing that He blesses us with many things that we don’t deserve and didn’t even pray for.  That’s His grace in operation in our lives.”  But God isn’t calling us to sit back and hope that He just does everything for us and supplies everything we need without our involvement.  Rather, God is calling us into a place of maturity and fellowship with Him.  The system I’m describing here is full proof, it is the Biblical system, and it is the way for you to begin experiencing all God has for you in this life.

At this point, you stay in patience (which means remaining in the place of faith no matter what things look like in the natural).  Maybe your bank account says $0 but you know God wants you to have a new car.  Money isn’t required for a new car, only faith in God’s ability to bring you one is.  Faith is actually the currency of Heaven, but we won’t get into that now.  So you keep meditating.  Instead of asking repeatedly for the car, stop asking and start thanking God for it.  You thank Him for the car He has for you.  You thank Him that you have already received it.  You worship Him.  You thank Him for the manifestation of the car.  And you keep listening for His voice.  This isn’t always easy to do, especially when you are believing for a major healing or other issue that might be more pressing than a new car.  But just start thanking and praising as that’s a major way forward to the manifestation.

As you pray, as you believe, as you thank Him, you always keep listening.  Why?  Sometimes that car will come easily.  Perhaps someone gives it to you.  Perhaps someone offers you a great deal on a car they don’t need and you sense that’s God’s blessing for you.  Who knows, there are infinite ways that God could bring you a car.  But it’s also possible that God is going to require you to do something. 

A good description of this is in the area of your health.  There are many promises in God’s Word that God will heal us of wounds and sicknesses.  As you begin to meditate them and operate in Biblical faith for your healing, God may very well tell you to do something.  Examples might be quit eating McDonald’s every day, go see a particular doctor, take a particular vitamin.  Think of all the crazy things Jesus did with people for them to get their healing (take up your bed, go wash, show yourself to the priests, let me spit in this mud and rub it on your face, etc.).  To receive manifestation of something in the physical realm it often requires a physical seed (we plant the seed of God’s design and reap the harvest we are believing for). 

Here is the point, we must listen for God’s directions.  I wish I could take the time to show you that this is one of the most important points across the entire Bible.  Mary said it best at the wedding when they needed some wine, “Whatever He tells you to do, do it.”  What happened there?  Jesus told the servants to take the washing pot water over to the leader of the feast.  They risked their jobs, their reputations, everything.  But they did what Jesus told them to do and the result was the finest wine this world has ever seen.  There were two ingredients in that wine, water and faith.

God told Noah to build a giant boat, He told Abraham to leave His family, He told Namaan to wash in the water, He told Gideon to go up against a huge army with 300 men, and He told Joshua to march around Jericho for seven days.  Again and again and again God gave His people crazy directions that were the key to His plans for their lives, the keys to their getting what they needed from God.  God’s system is not designed to make sense, it’s designed to make faith.

The most recent time I needed a car (because our lease was up) I went to God for His provision.  This was not long ago and I was ready to receive a car from Him.  I had some money saved up to buy a car, and I wanted to make sure that I got the car He wanted for our family.  So I started meditating God’s Word and listening for His voice.  The first thing that happened was that God gave me a dream about a big house in my mom’s old neighborhood.  I never knew the owner, but my friends and I always wondered about it because of its size.  Being a real estate lawyer, I looked up the owner when I woke up.  Sure enough, the guy owns two car dealerships in Tampa.  I had no way of knowing that, but God was showing me the first step to getting the car.

I went to the dealerships and looked around.  I couldn’t see any cars that I could afford that weren’t total junkers.  That’s where I started to miss it.  I gave up and bought a used car that I found on a lot somewhere.  I’m not saying that I abandoned God in the process, but with the lease deadline looking and a lot going on at work, I stopped pressing in for the next direction and I bought something I found on my own.  I know that God approved of my choice, but I also believe that I didn’t get exactly what He had for me.   Who knows what would have happened if I had kept pressing in.  My God who supernaturally pointed me to two dealerships could certainly have told me what to do next to get a good car at the right price!  Sometimes there are multiple directions.  Mature Christians can receive and follow multiple directions from God.  I won’t miss it next time!

Fortunately there have been many times when we have received what we need from God.  When God told us to move back to Tampa, we needed a church.  He told us where to go and it’s been great (it was crazy because I had heard bad things about the place)!  When we needed financing for a revival we were doing in Haiti, God told me to ask my clients.  They provided everything we needed and more (it was crazy because it was a large number and I was worried about what they might think)!  When God knew that I would need help to lead a men’s foundations group at my church, He showed me I needed this and brought me to a great guy to help (it was crazy because I barely knew the guy and was asking him to help teach new believers)!   

My friends, I’m not talking about bags of money or beach houses or things that you simply want without input from God.  Those things aren’t wrong, but focus on what God says you need in your life, not what you see on television or what your mind says you want.  I’m talking about things that you know you need.  I’m talking about things that God tells you that you need.  You may think you know what you need, but only God really knows.  And God wants you to have everything you need more than you do. 

It’s time that we reorient our lives so that He has input into every area.  He has a wonderful plan for your life (Jeremiah 29:11), and He knows what you need in every area, every step of the way.  When the Israelites needed food and water, God brought water from a rock and rained down bread from Heaven.  God can do anything!  It’s time to begin living with Him in every aspect of our lives and watching Him supernaturally meet our needs.

So let’s recap what we have discussed and look again at the specific steps to take to receive what you need from God.

1.      Take your needs to God in prayer so that He can help you identify and clarify them. 

2.      Go to God’s Word for verses and understanding of His will in your area of need.  Meditate those verses.

3.      When you are clear about your need and God’s will, ask God for what you need and believe you receive it right then and there. 

4.      Stay in faith as you meditate those verses and listen for His voice.  Worship Him, praise Him, and thank Him for the manifestation of what you need.

5.      Keep listening.  Sometimes your need will show up on your doorstep, but other times, and most of the time, you will have to step out in faith to get it.  Whatever He tells you to do, no matter how crazy it sounds, no matter how difficult it may be, do it.  You plant a natural seed by doing what God tells you to do, and you reap the harvest of what you are believing for.   When you receive the direction, greatly rejoice, for the manifestation is right around the corner.

My friends, this is the Biblical model for receiving any Godly need you have directly from Him.  We all have needs, but only God really knows them and sees them all clearly.  Do you want God to show you what you really need?  Do you want to have all those needs met?   I’m sure you do.  Then begin operating in God’s system of provision today.