What the Bible says about faith, pt. 3

A QUALIFIER IN PRAYER
Many mistakenly believe that they will receive anything the want in prayer simply because they ask for it. However, the Bible places a qualifier upon the prayers of believers. In Luke 22:42, Jesus prayed, “…not My will, but Yours, be done." In Matthew 6:10, Jesus taught us to pray “Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.” Here in I John 5:14, John declares, “…if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” And in Philippians 2:13, Paul declares, “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

Clearly, our prayers are to be according to the will of God. There are those teachers that declare that this qualifier is not for today, and to pray this way is a weakness upon the part of the believer. Chuck Smith writes in his book, Answers for Today, pg. 22: “’According to His will’ keeps a proper perspective between God and me. Any other way would remove the authority of God over my life. It would mean that I was the master of my fate, the captain of my destiny. My life wouldn’t be governed by God; instead it would be governed by me.”

Our salvation is dependent upon us agreeing with the will of God, “Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21). What is the will of The Father? That we believe upon Him whom He has sent, Jesus Christ.

And, it is not God’s will that anyone miss out on the salvation that He has provided in Christ, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (II Peter 3:9; also see I Timothy 2:4).

How thankful I am that God has not answered all my prayers. (In reality He has, by answering no). Many were selfish and self centered. Many were offered in ignorance, because I did not have a clear picture. Many were misguided because I thought I knew best. The will of God for our lives is the absolute best for our lives. He sees and understands not only the here and now, but also what is coming down the road. We are nearsighted; we only see what is near. God sees the whole picture, near and far. How foolish it is for us to think that we know what is best for our lives. God always has our best interests at heart even when it seems to us otherwise. This knowledge give us great confidence as we deal with the circumstances and situations of this life.

We can see from scripture that the will of God for our lives is a wonderful thing. As a result, our prayers should, in faith, seek the will of God for our lives no matter what the outcome. Remember, “…it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

The results of asking according to His will is that , “…He hears us.” God hearing our prayer is not dependent upon our ability to communicate or articulate the right words. Nor is His hearing dependent upon the length of our prayers. (Consider Matthew 6:7, “And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words”).

If I must ask according to His will, how do I know what His will is? First, don’t let doubt keep you from praying. Even Paul expressed that we don’t always know how to pray as we should (Romans 8:26). Second, express your desires, than ask Jesus to qualify them with “…your will be done.” Third, search the scriptures for God will always make known His will through His word, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:2). If we will take the time to know the will of God, then we can pray with confidence while we wait for Him to provide the answer.