This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears is –whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of Him. -1 John 5:14-15
I have struggled for a long with understanding the issue of prayer and how God answers them. When I was younger, I prayed really interesting prayers, such as that God would make my parents buy ice-cream when then went to the store, or that I would get sick so that I would not have to go to school and take a test, etc. I really believed that God would answer me, but whenever my parents came home with a bag load of vegetables instead of ice-cream or I woke up feeling as healthy as ever, I felt disappointed in God and in the concept of prayer.
Now, in my older days, I do not pray for ice-cream or illnesses, but I still often find that my prayers are a tad selfish. When they do not get answered, I get frustrated, but deep down in my heart; I now understand why they are not answered. John encourages us in the verses above that if we ask anything according to God’s will, He hears us. As I read that this morning, I was taken back to Luke 22:42, where Jesus prayed saying, “Father if you are willing, take this cup from Me; yet not my will but yours be done.” Jesus understood that God’s will was for Him to come to the world to save the world by dying in her place. When the day of His death was near, Jesus became overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Out of His sorrow, He cried out to God asking for the cup to pass Him over if the Lord was willing, but in His heart He knew it wasn’t God’s will, so He went on to say, yet not my will but yours be done. As He prayed that, we are told in verse 43 that an angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him. Many might have looked at this Scripture and concluded that God did not answer Jesus’ prayer, but I believe that He did. When Jesus prayed that the Father’s will be done, an angel came and strengthened Him; this indeed was the answer. God gave Him strength to carry out His will.
Many quote the “ask and it shall be given” scripture, but we often forget that when we ask, we are to ask according to His will. In order to do this, we have to first understand what God’s will is, and in order to do that, we have to first understand who God is. Christians who often get frustrated and conclude that God does not answer prayers are usually those that have not first taken time out to consider what the will of God is concerning their lives. I once read about a pastor that prayed and called for the congregation to also pray for a bigger Church. After service one day, someone asked, “Pastor, why do you want a bigger Church? I have never seen our Church completely filled.” The pastor could not answer the question, but when he was finally all alone at the end of the day, he thought about the question again and realized that he only wanted a bigger Church because his other pastor friend in another state had been bragging to him about the bigger building that His Church was building. He felt terrible and confessed his sin of selfishness the next Sunday and begged for forgiveness.
Dear friends, what have you been praying to the Lord about? Why do you want what you are praying for? Is it in accordance with the will of God for your life? If it is not, I challenge you to begin to seek His will today. We need to seek what the Lord wants, and pray it into being. When we begin to spend more time seeking God’s will than praying to satisfy our own selfish desires, He lays burdens on our hearts , and we can get involved in His will, rather than trying to make Him get involved with our selfish agendas. A change occurs when we begin to pursue God’s goals; His will becomes our desires. (See: http://hfministry.com/devotionals/desiresofyourheart.htm)
So brethren, the next time you pray for something, first prayerfully consider whether it is God’s will. Prayerfully consider whether your request will support God’s purposes rather than hinder them. Most importantly, spend more time in getting to know who He is through prayer and studying and meditating on the word, and I promise you that when you know more about who He is and what He wants, your prayer life, in fact, your entire life will change.
Grace and peace be with you.
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