Prayer for His will

"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 us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." - I John 5:14-15

God's Will. What does that even mean? So often in our Christian Society we are told that if we ask, we receive. Yes, this is true - we can ask of the Father and we indeed can receive. However, have you ever noticed that some prayers aren't answered in the way you want them to be? We can pull out all the tactics to impress the Lord with our "religiousness" but if God has not willed your prayer into being, then it will not be answered in the affirmative.

I belive that God has three answers to our prayers: yes, no, and not yet. The verse in I John came to me recently and I was floored. For so long in my life I've always told Jesus what I wanted, what I expected, and how I planned things to work out. How incredibly selfish is that! Me, telling the God of the universe who's able to do immeasureably more than I can ever think of or imagine, to "do this and do that" and then expect Him to answer my demands. That's exaclty what so many of my prayers are - demands. Have you ever noticed that in your own life?

It's funny, because the second God doesn't answer our prayers in the way we expect Him to - we get frustrated, hurt, and angry at Him. But the thing is, God has our best interests at heart at all times. Even if it seems right to us, it's not right for God's Kingdom and His plan for our lives. This is reaffirmed in Proverbs 21:2: "All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs his heart."

How often are the things we pray for something for our own selfish gain -that can actually be more detrimental to others than good? I believe that's why John was so encouraging us in I John that we need to pray in God's will.

Praying God's will is not easy. It's not for beginners, and it comes with much trouble and anxiety. In essence, we're giving up our power and control to someone else. And I don't know about you, but that terrifies me at times. However, we're giving the control, the captains seat, the place of honor in our lives to the One who is far more trustworthy than even our own selves. God is bigger than our problems, and He can overcome anything. It's just taking the step of faith to trust that His good and perfect plan for our life is what's BEST for our life - always and forever.

So how do we pray God's will? It's pretty easy, but it takes rededicating issues, struggles, anxiety, and fear back to the Lord on a very frequent basis. I find myself so often taking the ares of my life that I've dedicated to God for His will to be done, back into my own hands thus ruining any progress that the Lord and I started. So I start over again with "Lord, I can't do this anymore, you know my prayer, you know the desires, fears, and needs of my heart, and even though at times I think I know what's best - I know without a shadow of a doubt that you know better than I do. I pray that you're will would be done in this situation -and I'm dedicating this issue to you." And I pretty much repeat that same prayer over and over again - until I get to the point that it's no longer a burden, but a joy to entrust something so dear to me to someone so dear to me.

I would also say that we should ask God to reveal His will to us. That we would know what He would have us do in every circumstance. That He would give us guidance and protection. That His will and His plans would prosper over our own. And I can guarantee that when we're walking in God's will - when we're dedicating every portion of our lives to him - we're able to live much more productive, joyful lives. Because God's will and plan for our lives is better than anything we could ever even think of or imagine - it's that GREAT! :-)

A few verses of encouragement:

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all cirucmstances (this means the ups AND the downs). for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

"Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." - John 16:24

"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for - it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them." - Matthew 18:19-20

Pray together - in community - with those you trust, and God is there with you listening to your prayers and desiring to answer your requests. SO GOOD!