What do you really want?
That’s the question Pastor Josh White posed to Grace Bible Church on January 14, 2024, as he opened the book of 1 Thessalonians. It’s a question we all need to sit with honestly. We want things constantly — a better job, a bigger house, our team to win, a cheeseburger (as Josh quipped). We move from one desire to the next, never satisfied. But what if prayer is the answer to that restlessness?
Paul wrote to the Thessalonian church months after he’d been run out of town. They were young believers — no mature elders, limited access to Scripture, surrounded by hostile neighbors who had chased Paul away. Yet Paul couldn’t stop praying for them. His letter opens with this pattern: we give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers (1 Thessalonians 1:2).
Josh challenged the congregation with a simple but profound truth: God wants us to want what He wants. And prayer is how that happens in us.
Prayer Determines Our Main Influence
We are all being influenced by someone or something. Politicians, advertisers, social media, coworkers — every day, forces compete to shape what we believe and how we live. At the end of the day, Josh said, there are really only two influences at work: those pointing us toward God’s glory, and those pointing us toward ourselves.
When we pray consistently, our primary influence shifts. Our eyes turn away from our natural bent toward self-glorification, and we start seeing God for who He really is.
“Sing to the Lord, all the Earth… For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised… Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”
— 1 Chronicles 16:23, 28–29
That’s David’s heart after time in prayer. Not coincidentally — David was a man of prayer. The same David who later wrote most of the Psalms. Prayer changed his perspective. It will change ours too.
Prayer Shapes Our Understanding of Truth
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: apart from Christ, we can do nothing of eternal significance. Not “nothing worthwhile” — nothing that will last into eternity. Everything the world calls success will be burned up (1 Corinthians 3:13). But when we abide in Christ, God produces fruit through us that endures forever.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
— John 15:5
Paul understood this the hard way. In 2 Corinthians 12, he pleaded with God three times to remove his “thorn in the flesh” — some painful affliction. God’s answer? My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
That truth — that we are weak, that we need God, that apart from Him we have nothing — is exactly what prayer communicates to our hearts. The world tells us we’re enough. Prayer tells us the opposite, and that’s liberating.
Prayer Guides Our Choices
What does God want more than anything else? For people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). When we pray, we don’t just request things — we start wanting what God wants. We become participants in His mission.
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
— Matthew 9:37–38
Jesus could have simply told the disciples to go. Instead, He said pray. Because when we pray, our hearts align with God’s — we don’t just know what He wants, we want it too. We want to be part of it.
Josh closed with a pointed question: if God granted you one wish right now, what would you ask for? A better car? A bigger house? Your team to win? None of those are wrong. But if we want lasting satisfaction, we need to want what God wants — and that happens through prayer.
So What?
Prayer is not a last resort or a religious habit. It’s the means by which God reshapes our desires, realigns our priorities, and involves us in His work. This Saturday, GBC Phoenix gathered for a church-wide prayer event — not because prayer is a formality, but because we need to be reminded of this truth:
God wants us to want what He wants. And He invites us to bring that to Him in prayer.
Scripture References
- 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3 — Paul’s prayers for the Thessalonian church
- John 15:5 — Apart from Christ we can do nothing
- 1 Chronicles 16:23–33 — David’s prayer of God’s glory
- 1 Corinthians 3:6–9 — God gives the growth
- 2 Corinthians 12:7–10 — God’s grace is sufficient
- 1 Timothy 2:3–5 — God desires all people to be saved
- Matthew 9:37–38 — Pray for laborers for the harvest