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Acts 1:23-26

23 And they proposed two: Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, "You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which of these two You have chosen 25 "to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." 26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

What's going on here in today's devotional verses, is the disciples where choosing a replacement for Judas Iscariot who had betrayed Jesus and hung himself.
If your read back in verse 15 it says that there were about 120 men present at this time, and out of these 120 men, two were chosen which where Joseph called Barsabas and Matthias, and out of these two one would be chosen to be the 12th apostle.
They made their choice by casting their lots for the two men.
What is casting lots?

A lot is an object used, which was either a pebble, or a potsherd, or a bit of wood.
The lots of several persons concerned, inscribed with their names, were thrown together into a vase, which was then shaken, and he whose lot fell out first upon the ground was the one chosen.

So both Joseph and Matthias' name were put into the vase and out came Matthias' name, which was chosen by the apostles to be the 12th apostle. But if you read the rest of the New Testament, you no longer hear of Matthias, Why? It's possible that he was not the 12th apostle. Some believe (as do I) that the real 12th apostle is Paul. But this devotional will not go into the reasons why.

What I want you to notice today is that the 120 men only gave God two choices, Joseph or Matthias. Sure they prayed after the two men where chosen, but they didn't pray for God's choice. Notice verse 24 again show which of these two You have chosen.

But we do the same thing when we pray. If someone is sick we give God two choices, either heal them or take them home to heaven. But what if God wants to do neither?
Maybe God doesn't want to heal them so that His name will be glorified and others saved through the work God is doing in their lives.

We pray the same about our personal needs. "God I am trying to choose between this nice big SUV that will hold my whole family, or this little sports car so me and my wife can have a good time driving around in it together."
God may have another car in mind for you, one that's more practical and better on gas and cheaper insurance.

These are just a few examples, and I'm sure you can come up with others, maybe even one you are currently praying about.
We wonder why God doesn't answer our prayers. The truth may be you are only giving God two choices, and neither one is His will.
So this week don't give God choices on how you think He should handle your requests. But rather allow God to decide what is needed and how He wants to give it.

Allow God to give you a nice juicy New York steak, and stop giving God the choice of giving you something from, McDonald's or Burger King.

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