Does God Have Needs - Bible Study

Does God Have Any Needs?

Several weeks ago I posted an entry describing a card I give to people I meet. In that post I pointed out that our primary need is our salvation. At the end of that post I asked the question, "Does God have any needs that he looks to us to meet?" Before answering that question, 13 additional post were made in which we considered the words: anxiety, blessing, calling, gifts, humble, love, praise, seeking, service, singing, thanks, waiting and worship. Each one of those words establish a connection between us and God. I wanted us to consider if any of these words established a need that God had that we could meet.

In reality, for God to be God he needs nothing outside of himself because there is nothing outside of him. Therefore, we might conclude that he has no needs that we can meet, but before we write off this study as unimportant, let us reduce the idea of need to that of desire and ask the question, "Why did God create humans in his image?"

God created us in his image, not because he needed us, but because we were part of his eternal plan. He wanted a people he could love, enjoy and provide for. He loved us so much he was willing to sacrifice his Son to provide our salvation and then to work with us as his children in the process of conforming us into the image of his Son. That is where the words given below and developed in previous posts fit in. They relate to our growth in Christ-likeness and our learning about God. All of this is happening, not because God needs us, because he desires us to lavish his love on.

Summary of Words Previously Covered

Each word is a link to the previous post for that word. The main verse(s) to the right of the word is a link to the given Scripture in three translations.The comment is more meaningful if you first click on the verse link to establish the context.

Anxiety		1 Peter 5:6 - 7
	When we are anxious God instructs us to humble ourselves under his mighty hand, casting all of our anxieties on him because he cares for us. God knows of our needs and desires to provide for us.
Blessing		Psalm 103:1 - 2
	As part of our life we are to bless the Lord and not forget all his benefits we receive from him. He gives to meet our needs and we are to bless his back.
Calling		Jeremiah 33:3
	Do you want to know God; to know things about God; to know of his love and provision for us, then we are to call on him and he will reveal great and hidden things to us.
Gifts		Deuteronomy 16:17
	The Lord our God is so generous toward us, even to the point of sacrificing his only Son for us. As an expression of our love for him we should give back to him as we are able, according to his blessing to us.
Humble		James 4:10
	Pride stands in opposition to God, thus it is wise that we humble ourselves before the Lord and if we do then in his time and under the right circumstances he will exalt us.
Love		Deuteronomy 6:5
	There are so many things we might desire to love, but he knows what is best for us and instructs us to love him with all of our heart, soul and might.
Praise		Psalm 150:1 - 2
	We will find God in his sanctuary and in his mighty heavens. We are to focus our attention there and praise him for his mighty deeds and his excellent greatness.
Seeking		Psalm 105:4
	Because of our fallen nature there is a veil between us and the Lord, which varies in transparence depending on how we live. As a result, we need to continually, intentionally and in his strength, seek him and his presence.
Service		Psalm 100:2
	“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8 – 10 ESV). Part of our service to the Lord is to do those good works and to do them with gladness.
Singing		Psalm 149:1
	We are to gather together with other godly people to sing praise to the Lord. Just as we form prayers with our words we are to put words together to form new songs of praise.
Thanks		Psalm 136:1
	If we are truly walking with the Lord, we will experience him in a great variety of daily situations and as we do we will find that he is good. We need to stop and think of what life would be like without him and thank him for his goodness toward us.
Waiting		Psalm 27:14
	In this western culture it is difficult to be still when life seems to be falling apart around us, but the Lord has things in control. We need to heed his instruction to be strong in him and let our hearts take courage as we wait for the Lord to provide in his time and in his way.
Worship		Psalm 95:6 - 7
	How important it is to take time and come to Him to worship. Let us bow down before our God and kneel before the Lord our maker. He wants to provide us with so much if only we would turn from our friendship with the world and enjoy him.