What the Bible Says About Asking God for Help With the Small Things
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Do you ever wonder if the Lord of all creation is concerned about the little things in your life? Does God care about every detail or is He just concerned with the BIG issues? We may think He is “too big” to care about our seemingly small troubles and can feel we are “pestering Him” about unimportant matters. But according to the words of scripture, everything about you matters to God. Learn why asking God for help with even the little things in life is not only ok, it’s expected!
Asking God For Help – Does He Care About Every Detail?
Have you ever gone to a group wanting to ask for prayer about a situation or problem you have in your life and then stopped before you asked?
Have you gone before God and wanted to ask Him for help with something going on in your life, your marriage, your job, etc., but then decided it was too trivial?
You hesitate to ask God because it seems to pale in comparison to other people’s needs.
We sometimes look at our problem or situations and decide that, in comparison, other people have far worse going on in their lives, so we feel bad asking. We feel guilty or even selfish!
I mean, who am I to ask people to pray about my aches and pains when other people have serious, life-threatening illnesses?
Who am I to ask people to pray about my problems at work when people have lost their jobs?
You may feel you shouldn’t ask for prayer about your “minor” issues with your husband when people are experiencing divorce or infidelity!
We feel asking God for help when it seems trivial and small is selfish! But our Heavenly Father doesn’t see it that way!
Grading Our Right to Ask God for Help
We often grade our right to asking God for help based on what other people have going on and we decide our issue is too trivial to give it to Him.
But God is not just the God of the big problems. He is the God of the little problems too. Asking God for help in prayer should happen before a little problem becomes a bigger one!
God is not just the God of the big problems. He is the God of the little problems too! Click To TweetWhen we neglect to ask God for help because we think it is too small for Him, we are actually showing a lack of faith and even pride as we usurp God’s authority and decide what He should and shouldn’t be concerned with. That is not being humble people, it is actually the opposite.
We think we are better off to handling those trivial matters than to “bother” God with them. We try to handle them in our own strength and much time is wasted that could have been saved had we just prayed about it.
Let me ask you an honest question…have you EVER handled anything better than God? Ever?
It is the way the enemy works in our lives to keep God from having full authority!
We have not because we ask not! We hold them back without bringing them God.
James 4:2:
We have not because we do not pray!
In times of trouble we need to go to Him no matter how big or small. His Word in James 4:2 is just common sense! We don’t have because we fail to ask!
That is not working in the knowledge of God and His character! His unfailing love for us means that He is our strong tower in times of need and trouble.
When we are heavy laden, we should lean on him. We do not have to be on level ground with what others are going through! What troubles my own heart matters to God.
Asking God for Help With the Little Things
The enemy wants us to believe that our need is too small to give to God because, in doing this, it keeps us struggling and trying to deal with our problems in our own power instead of God’s. It keeps us in isolation with our problems.
But the truth is, many times if we don’t get help for those small problems they can go on to become bigger problems. They can cause us to fall into despair and depression. This is exactly what the enemy wants!! That is NOT the will of God.
The enemy wants us to believe that somehow our needs are too small to ask for help! Click To TweetHe wants those small marital spats to become bigger issues that lead to divorce!
He wants our little problems with our children to go on to become issues that lead to our kids going astray!
And he wants our little doubts and fears to go on to become issues that separate us from God.
Our faith isn’t just reserved for the big things, it’s for the smallest of things too. God’s good gifts aren’t just the big things but the little blessings.
When we give thanks to God should it just be for the big, impressive things? No!
We should give thanks for the fact that each and every breath we take is a gift.
We should give thanks for the smallest of victories, the smallest of blessings, all the good things in life and yes, even for the tough times because the Word says we should give thanks IN all our circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
We have eternal life!
If He can bless us with life everlasting then why do we think He won’t be there in our time of need no matter how grand a scale it is on, or when we need to make an important decision?
We may think our prayer request pales in comparison to the needs of others but that is our OWN understanding and not what the Word of God tells us.
We don’t need to be on the brink of despair! We have a faithful God who wants us to come before the throne of grace to seek His perfect will and words of wisdom from His Word ALL the time.
We should seek God’s guidance even in small decisions and the Holy Spirit will be there to guide us.
If we should give thanks for the little things then why do we think the little things shouldn’t also be taken before the throne to ask God when we need help?
Ask God and Cast ALL Your Cares and Worries
If our children have a problem in their lives, don’t we want them to come to us when the problem is small versus waiting until it escalates?
God is no different.
1 Peter 5:7 says:
It says cast ALL your anxiety, ALL your cares on HIM because He cares for you! It doesn’t say some, it doesn’t say big ones, it doesn’t say only if your cares are as big as others…it says ALL.
Casting in this verse is the Greek word epiriptō and it means to throw or place upon.
Imagine that! God wants us to throw our cares to Him! He wants us to place them upon Him.
God wants to bear ALL your cares, regardless of how large they may be. He is the God who gave the sea its limit but He is also the God whose eyes are upon the smallest of birds.
Matthew 6:26:
God feeds the birds! The Creator of all things cares so much for His creation that He ensures they are taken care of.
And yet we think our problems are too small for Him to care about?
And it is not just the problems we should pray about! We should pray for God’s guidance and wisdom.
James 1:5:
Can You Ask God For Help When You Feel YOU ARE the Little Thing?
What about asking God to do BIG things when YOU feel you’re the little thing?
Do you ever feel like you are too insignificant for God to want to use to fill those big dreams you have?
Jesus Christ went to the cross for you! You are never too insignificant for Him. Your prayer life should involve the big things, the little things and everything in between.
He is a generous God who doesn’t grade prayer based on the size of the need.
All throughout the Bible, God uses the weak and broken, He uses the average, the plain, the ignored, to do great things.
Never feel like your God-given dream is too small or that it is too big for a small YOU to achieve it. Ask God to equip you further!
Psalm 34:17:
God knows what you have need of before you even ask. He knows your pain points. God sees your dream and if He planted it in you don’t you believe He will equip you for it?
Little things aren’t just the insignificant-appearing things we want or need, but we too are the little things. And we should not hesitate to ask God to use us.
What are you needing prayer for that you didn’t think was important enough?
CJB – Taken from the Complete Jewish Bible by David H. Stern. Copyright © 1998. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Messianic Jewish Publishers, 6120 Day Long Lane, Clarksville, MD 21029. www.messianicjewish.net.
Tree of Life (TLV) – Scripture taken from the Holy Scriptures, Tree of Life Version*. Copyright © 2014,2016 by the Tree of Life Bible Society. Used by permission of the Tree of Life Bible Society.
ESV – “Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
NASB – “Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation“
This was a great article! It’s a common problem for Christians to only pray for others because we think our issues aren’t very important. I’m guilty of it too. I find myself ignoring praying for myself and focusing only on my family before we go out the door each morning. But, I love you pointing out that if we give God praise for the little things then it clearly indicates He’s concerned about the little things. That was a great reminder. Thanks for writing this. -Gina, Steppes of Faith
Thank you so much Gina!!!
This is a great reminder that God cares for us so deeply. Thank you!
Thank you Kristina!
Amen! I love this line: “God is not just the God of the big problems. He is the God of the little problems too!”. I appreciate this post; keep it up!
Thank you Andrew!!
Wow! You have an AWESOME website. I admire your love for the LORD! Keep at it! Thanks for all you do to bring the Word to others!
Thank you so much Ariel!!
“But the truth is, many times if we don’t get help for those small problems they can go on to become bigger problems.” So true! Not only do the small problems fail to get resolved, it also puts us in the mindset that we don’t need to address them, and this mindset can stick with us even when the problems get bigger.
Amen Jen!! They don’t go away just because we don’t deal with them!!
Thank you for sharing this lovely look at prayer.
Thank you!!
What a great reminder that God is in the little details as well as the big! ❤
Thank you Donna!!!
Thanks for the reminder that God cares about us. Even the little things are important to Him. 🙂
Amen!! Thank you!!
God is God of the big and small. Nothing is insignificant for Him.
Amen!! We serve an awesome God!!
Thanks for this reminder— I often find myself comparing my lesser “need” to others and settling for staying quiet rather than asking for prayer… I love that God cares about the minutiae!
I love that He does as well!! Thank you!!