2024 was the year of manifesting. Cambridge Dictionary named “manifest” its word of the year. Everyone from Conor McGregor to Lady Gaga has credited their success to manifesting. And by that, they mean creating the future they want for themselves by visualizing and believing it hard enough that it becomes a reality. The power of positive thinking, the law of attraction, and even the way many Christians talk about “believing prayer” all refer to the same basic mindset.
While the success stories are highly publicized, the heartbreak of the many people who have experienced disappointment and frustration doesn’t get the same attention. The Bible diagnoses both the problem and the solution.
1. You’re not in control of your future—God is
It’s attractive to think that we can just decide what job we’re going to get and how much money we’re going to earn. We’d love to be in control of our health and relationships. And there’s no doubt that focus, will, and determination play a role in getting you to the place you want to be. But it’s prideful to think that you’re in charge of your future.
The Bible says: Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (James 4:13-16)
They thought they could manifest—or at least predict—the success of the coming year, but we don’t even know if we’re going to be alive tomorrow. Recognizing that God is in control not only keeps us from blaming our disappointments on a lack of positive energy or “faith,” but it also encourages us to trust in God’s good purposes, even when our circumstances seem discouraging.
2. You don’t know what’s best for you—God does
Have you ever stopped to consider what shapes the kind of future you’d like to will or pray into existence? For most people, better health, better relationships, and more money are at the top of their list. We want to be comfortable—and why wouldn’t we? But if you’ve ever met someone you deeply respected, it’s unlikely that their life was shaped by comfort. Character is often forged in difficulty. And what makes us comfortable today can often lead to regret tomorrow. As Proverbs 14:12 warns, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Even Jesus, in His humanity, wished there was a way to avoid the pain of the cross. But He knew that the will of His Father was ultimately better than the short-term comfort His body craved. And so He prayed: Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done. (Luke 22:42)
When you try to manifest your future or bend God’s will to yours, you’re trying to run your corner of the universe without the wisdom or capacity to do so.
3. Your thoughts don’t change the world—your prayers do
It can feel discouraging to think that we’re not in control and don’t know what’s best for us, but the Bible describes God’s good plan to incorporate our desires, His power, and the knowledge He alone possesses regarding our needs and circumstances. That plan is prayer.
God could just do what He wants, but He has chosen to act in partnership with our prayers. Prayer, unlike manifesting, seeks the intersection of our desires and God’s will. 1 John 5:14 promises, And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.
And its goal is never a mere transaction but a relationship of care and support: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)
When you send positive energy into the universe, you’re all alone when you don’t attract the results you’re seeking. But when you look to a God who knows and loves you, you can rest in the peace of His plan—whether it agrees with yours or not.
Ultimately, it’s good news that we’re not in control of our future because we don’t know what’s best for us. But there’s a good God who does. When we walk with Him in prayer, learning to entrust our desires to Him and submit our will to His, He’s pleased to do great things in our lives. Look to Him today!
In awe of Him,
Paul
