I may covet something in the natural, (have an excessive desire for it), but covetousness is against biblical principles. Scripture states, “Godliness with contentment is great gain”, 1 Timothy 6:6.
See also, Hebrews 13:5, “Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have for He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”.
Am I guilty of a spiritual covetousness when I come to my Heavenly Father in prayer? There is a spiritual coveting that demands from God an answer that must be had NOW! This attitude is wrong and leads a person astray. The purpose of prayer is that I come to know God as He is and develop a deeper relationship with Him, finding His mind and view of matters. We are made in the image of God. He desires intimacy in a relationship with us, and the human heart craves love. There is only One who can fully satisfy that love and that is our Heavenly Father because “God IS love”, 1 John 4:16. All other loves and desires can never satisfy that part in us that only the “Lover of our souls” can fill.
God wants to be wanted! We were firstly created for His good pleasure and getting to know Him as He really is will satisfy every part of me and change my whole life and view forever. Jesus, praying to His Father, before His betrayal, spoke these words, “This is life eternal, that they might know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent,” John 17:3. When Jesus gifts us with His eternal life at our salvation, our eternal life begins down here – getting to know Him in our daily walk.
The words of the song, which is really a prayer, come to mind:
“I want to know You Jesus as You are,
Not how I think, but as You really are,
That I might change, just by KNOWING You,
To live a richer life that beholds You.”
Scripture instructs us how to pray, bringing our requests, not our demands, to God. The Lord knows what I have need of. Philippians 4:6 “…..in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” I may not have an answer to my request immediately, but when I have committed all into His hands, I can rest that He has heard me and I can trust Him with the outcome. God is omniscient, nothing is hidden from His eyes and He will answer and fulfil at His appointed time, according to His divine purposes, not mine. When I make my requests in the right spirit, the following verse becomes my portion: verse 7 :”And the peace of God , which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus”. God’s peace has divine purpose. It is a KEEPER, in Christ, of my heart and mind, my two trouble spots when they are out of order. The issues in my heart affect my mind. This is why I need God’s peace as a gauge to let me know when I am on track with Him, or not. His peace is disturbed in me when something is wrong.
My responsibility is to yield to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, not ignore them! “Life or death” is the result of my daily choices. Colossians 3:15 calls and encourages us, “LET the peace of God rule in your hearts….” I have a responsibility to be a keeper of God’s peace in my heart. I am accountable to the Lord when I lose it, I cannot lay the blame at another’s door, even when they are in the wrong. As stated earlier, God’s peace is to keep me in right standing with Him in all of life’s circumstances. When my peace is disturbed, I need to get before the Lord and hear what He is saying.
We are called to be “let-ers”…..”Let the peace of God rule in your heart”. Remember what Paul said about us “letters” – (living epistles): “You are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men. You are declared to be the epistle of Christ…..written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart”, 2 Corinthians 3:2-3.
The peace of God is part of our birthright in Christ Jesus. Let us learn to esteem, value and operate in this priceless gift, purchased for us through Calvary.
Isaiah 26:3 “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because He trusts in Thee.” Who am I trusting in today?
