I'm having trouble understanding Psalm 37:4 ("Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart"). Everyone always quotes that verse when I talk about wanting a husband or children, but I don't feel too sure. Obviously some of our desires don't ever get fulfilled because God doesn't give us everything we want.
Now concerning that verse, it's best to take it within it's context and go back one more verse. So let's look at that. Psalms 37:3
Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
The New King James Version. 1982 (Ps 37:3). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Many times, people know how to trust in the Lord but forget the part of "doing good." We, as Christians, are saved for the purpose of good works (Ephesians 2:10). As we understand God's will and delight in God's will for us to do good works, then we pray according to God's will by allowing Him to work through us. That's the idea of "delighting in the Lord." When we understand God's will for us in our lives, then we delight in God's will. When we delight in God's will, we want to do good works because that's God's will. When we want to do good works and pray that God strengthens us to do good works, then He gives us the desires of our heart.
Now let's look at the verse that goes after Psalm 37:4. In other words, let's look at Psalm 37:5.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
The New King James Version. 1982 (Ps 37:5). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
You can look at this as the attitude after prayer. After you have prayed according to God's will, then the evidence of faith displays your commitment to God. In other words, your thoughts, words, and deeds are entrusted to God that your life displays that commitment. You don't need to say anything about how you're committed to God. People can already tell from how you present yourself that you are committed. You also have confidence that when you're in God's will, and you know exactly that God has called you for a specific good work, then "He shall bring it to pass." In other words, you know God is going to answer.
The New King James Version. 1982 (Jas 1:4-8). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
The idea I'm trying to convey here, is that your faith in God gives you the confidence that it will be answered.