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First, I want to say there's absolutely nothing wrong with being ignorant. It simply means there's a lack of knowledge or awareness about something, or perhaps being a bit uneducated or unsophisticated. The Lord knows all, and He understands our limitations. After all, He created our minds, so in a way, my ignorance can be seen as partly His doing.

But here's the thing: ignorance won't help you fix problems. If you're trying to repair an electrical panel, it's wise to have at least a basic understanding of how it works before you start tugging at wires. In the same way, having some basic knowledge about God can really enrich your prayers and your relationship with Him.

When the Lord led us into Refreshing Hope, I came from a background of fasting and listening to the Bible around the clock. I went through the Bible cover to cover every three days. I thought that all Christians should do the same, but looking back, I see I might have been a little radical for the mainstream. As we began the ministry and started taking prayer requests, I was taken aback by some of them. Many were praying in ignorance, tugging on electrical cables they simply didn't understand.

It was eye-opening to see how some people were confusing God with Santa Claus. Their prayers often sounded like, "Gimme, gimme, gimme, Jeezy!" One memorable prayer request was, "Pray for the Lord to give me a large brick home, fully furnished and paid for in a nice neighborhood, along with a brand-new Cadillac Escalade, fully loaded and paid for…" (and yes, that was a real request!). The list went on and on. But God is not the Santa Claus of heaven. If you truly want to receive the desires of your heart, you must follow His instructions: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4).

Most of our supernatural provision comes in the most natural ways. Just as the trees, the flowers of the field, and the birds of the air, God provides what we need for each day, but we usually have to participate in it somehow. Each morning brings a fresh supply that aligns perfectly with our needs. If tomorrow calls for twice as much, then you can bet He'll provide just that. It's a lesson that's simple to read but often challenging to grasp.

When the Lord led the Israelites out of bondage in Egypt, they were used to living as ignorant slaves, laboring tirelessly for the Pharaohs. The Lord had to teach them to trust Him. Initially, they celebrated their new freedom and sang to the Lord with timbrels in hand, "Yay! God is good!"

(Exodus 15:20-21 NKJV) Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them: "Sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!"

After the Red Sea, they traveled through the desert wilderness—a harsh rocky area with no fresh water. Reality set in when they came to Mara, and there was water there, but it was poisoned. So, like young teenagers, they whined and complained. The Lord told Moses to cast a tree into the water, and it became sweet:

(Exodus 15:22-25 NKJV) So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them, and there He tested them

The Lord "tested" them at Mara. Then, they came to Elim, a paradise with an abundance of water and shade. Israel had seventy elders (Exodus 24:1), and there were seventy palm trees for them to rest under. This was a time of restoration:

(Exodus 15:27-16:1 NKJV) Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there by the waters. And they journeyed from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the Wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they departed from the land of Egypt.

After enjoying the shady paradise of Elim, they found themselves heading back into the desert of Sin. This really sums up the pattern of the Christian life: moments of refreshing that don't seem to last long before we're thrust back into the desert for spiritual growth and a bit of stress testing.

Before long, the Israelites began to worry and complain about the food they missed from Egypt. It's interesting to note that they weren't actually starving; in the very next chapter, we learn they needed water not just for themselves but for the livestock they had brought with them from Egypt (Exodus 17:3). So, they had options like milk, cheese, and meat if they wanted it. In truth, the Israelites had little to complain about, but, as we often do, they allowed their greed to transform into a desperate need. "I'm starving, and I can't be happy without the food we used to have in Egypt!"

(Exodus 16:2-3 NKJV) Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, "Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger."

So, the Lord introduced something new by raining down manna from heaven for the Israelites as they wandered through the wilderness. It settled on the ground with the morning dew, appearing fine and pearl-like in color, resembling small seeds, much like coriander. Each piece was roughly the size of a sesame seed. The Israelites called it "manna," which translates to "What is it?" (Exodus 16:13-15).

They discovered they could boil or bake the manna into cakes, and it tasted like wafers made with honey. Each morning, a fresh layer of manna would blanket the camp, providing enough food to sustain over a million people. Those who gathered a lot didn't have too much, and those who collected just a little didn't have too little. They learned to cooperate with God each day. Israel couldn't make the manna appear, and God wouldn't gather it for them. While He provided fresh manna each morning, it was up to the Israelites to go out and gather it themselves.

They were commanded not to keep extra manna overnight or try to hoard what God had given them. When some tried to, it "bred worms and stank." A nice touch... God provided twice as much manna on the day before the Sabbath. So, the people gathered twice as much on Friday, kept it overnight, and it didn't spoil. On the Sabbath day, no manna appeared at all. When there was a double need, there was a double provision to meet it. This pattern continued for forty years until Israel entered the Promised Land and ate the food there. God faithfully provided manna for them six days a week, and it was like eating sweet bread each day.

In 1 Kings 17, the prophet Elijah prophesied a drought would come upon the land, declaring there would be no dew or rain until he said so. Following this, he went to live by the Brook Cherith. The Lord commanded ravens to bring Elijah bread and meat each day—morning and evening—while he drank water from the brook. Elijah's needs were met daily until it came time for him to move on, and then the brook dried up.

After the brook dried up, the Lord instructed Elijah that He had commanded a widow in Zarephath to provide for him. So Elijah set off for Zarephath and found the widow in a desperate situation—she was starving, with no firewood in her home, as she was out gathering sticks.

When Elijah asked her for some water and a piece of bread, she sorrowfully replied that she had no bread at all—just a handful of flour in a bowl and a little oil in a jar. She was preparing what she thought would be her last meal for herself and her son, planning to face starvation afterward.

Elijah gently reassured her, saying, "Do not fear." He told her to go ahead and make the bread but to bring him some first, even before she fed herself or her son. He promised her that if she obeyed, her flour and oil would not run out until the rain came to end the three-year drought.

Now, that's a tough request during a time of famine when everyone is starving. Would God really ask a widow in such dire straits to give up part of her last meal? Apparently so. Why? It was to teach her to trust Him. Her very life depended on it. Always remember, God has no shortages.

Imagine the poor widow's situation. I can almost hear her praying, "Lord, I'm down to my last handful of flour... Please help me! What am I going to do? What about my son?"

The Lord tells her, "I am sending you a prophet to feed."

Widow: "Excuse me, Lord, but just to be clear, did You say You're sending me a prophet to... eat?"

Yet, the widow went and did as Elijah asked, and her bowl of flour did not run out, nor did the little jar of oil run dry. She, her household, and Elijah ate for many days, possibly for the next two years. Yet, God did not provide two years' worth of flour and oil for them at once, but only the amount they needed for that day. It was a time of famine, and if a large supply room of food had been discovered at the widow's house, they would have been robbed by nightfall.

Just as the manna fell each day, and the ravens brought food each day, so too were the flour and oil replenished daily.

In (Luke 12:15–21), Jesus tells the parable of a rich man whose harvest was so abundant that he didn't know what to do with it all. He decided to build even bigger barns to store his wealth for years to come so he could eat, drink, and be merry. God called this man a "fool," which is strong language for scripture (Matthew 5:22).

After sharing this parable, Jesus pointed to the ravens, which don't sow or reap; they have no storeroom or barn, yet God feeds them day by day. He also spoke of the lilies of the field—beautiful flowers that neither toil nor spin. Yet, even Solomon, in all his glory, was not dressed as splendidly as one of these. The lily is rooted in the ground and cannot move from where it is planted, yet God provides for it every single day.

Then Jesus said: (Matthew 6:30-34 NASB) "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Summary:

1: God will take care of tomorrow when it arrives, just as He provided manna each day, sent ravens to Elijah daily, and replenished the flour and oil for the widow every morning.

2: Storing up possessions and building bigger barns while ignoring the needs of the kingdom of God makes you a fool in His eyes.

3: Sometimes, the Lord will ask you to give Him something first before He takes care of you for the next couple of years. It is learning to trust Him to take care of us, one day at a time.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I choose to trust in You, and I know that You are going to take care of me just as the birds of the air and the grass of the field. Please give me the grace to do my part here. Speak to me in a way that I understand and guide me into all that You would have me do on this Earth. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.