February 20

“Sir,” they said, “give us this bread at all times.” — John 6:34 BSB

That was a good prayer. It is the kind of prayer we all should pray every day. But the people who first prayed it didn’t fully understand what they were asking for.

This is often the case with our prayers. We have a vague, shadowy vision of something good and beautiful, but we don’t grasp the true depth of what we are asking. The thing we think we want isn’t always the thing God has in mind for us when He gives His promises. What He intends is far more worthy, but we may have something material and earthly in mind. It’s a good thing that we have an Intercessor, Jesus, who takes our poor, mistaken prayers and interprets them rightly for us. He gives us not what we thought we wanted, but something better and more divine.

Abraham spent his life seeking a country he never received, but he found something better along the way. His faith grew, and his hopes turned toward spiritual things, of which the earthly country he sought was only a shadow. So it is with our prayers and their disappointments. What we think we want, we may not find—but all the while, we are receiving blessings that are far better. As we walk through life, seeking what we believe will be good for us, we are actually being led step by step toward better blessings—spiritual blessings, of which the earthly things we long for are only dim pictures.