08/19/2020
Do we pray simply to receive those things that an omnipotent God can give to us, or do we pray that we receive those things that are part and parcel of His will? How did Jesus pray in the Garden of Gethsemane? He prayed that If it were God’s will that this cup be removed from Him, but more than that, He prayed that not His will but God’s will be done. How do we pray? Do we pray that whatever we desire be given to us, or whatever calamity we are facing will be lifted from us? Do we ask these things without concern for the will of God, or do we pray that God’s will be done?
“And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”
1 John 5:14 ESV
God has an overall plan for our lives, but He has more than some overarching, larger than life, idea of what He wants to accomplish, or a sky high view of what our life will be; God is intimately involved in our lives, and He knows how we are interwoven into His will for creation. He knows and plans for every breath we take.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.”
Matthew 10:29-30 ESV
As children we see things very simply, and we pray in that manner as well. I remember praying that my sports team be given victory over our opponents, that I get a perfect score on a test in school, or that I get the bicycle I wanted for Christmas, but never once do I recall praying that God’s will be done in those things. I didn’t ask God for victory in sports so that I could console one of my opponents and tell him about Jesus. I didn’t ask him to give me a perfect score on my test so that I could succeed in my life and be used by Him in some larger way, and I certainly didn’t understand that I would need that bicycle so that I could ride to my Bible School Teacher’s home where I would give my life to God through Jesus Christ, but each of those answered prayers were His will for me... even when I couldn’t see that will, or understand it...
““Can you find out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limit of the Almighty? It is higher than heaven —what can you do? Deeper than Sheol—what can you know? Its measure is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.”
Job 11:7-9 ESV
I have thought about this on many occasions, and it finally dawned on me that sometimes we get our selfish prayers, not because we came to the realization that they were in synch with God’s will, but just because we happened to pray them as we should, and at the time we were supposed to. Yet, even in our ineptness His will was done. Sometimes such “accidental” conformance to God’s will can make us believe that God is yielding to our desires just because we asked, and this confusion can lead us to misunderstand prayer, we miss the truth that all prayer is heard and answered when it conforms with God’s will. If Jesus had received his own desires in Gethsemane then there would have been no Calvary, but He prayed to remain within the will of God, and then defeated sin and death.
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:8-11 ESV
What great things are awaiting us if we will only obey, and ask that God’s will be done in our lives when we are praying? What amazing joys, deep sorrows, and incredible hardships, are in store for us, and even if we quake at their difficulty, weep in mourning, or sweat tears of blood at the thought of them, how incredible will they be when God at last reveals His will for us through them? You see... we pray for ease, and happiness, but sometimes the hard way, and our moments of suffering, serve God‘s ultimate will best.
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV
So seek the will of God, and His purpose, then pray accordingly, because all the prayers in the world are for naught if not prayed within the will of God... and the name of Jesus.
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.”
James 4:3 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for the plan you have for my life, and your will that drives it to good. Thank you Lord for your Son Jesus Christ who taught us to pray in your will, and to know that you will hear us if we will do that. Open our eyes Father so that in every breath we take, the sweet, and the bitter alike, will will find you leading us, and see your good outcome. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God whose will governs all of creation, and brings blessing to every life. We praise you for revealing yourself to us by opening our hearts to your will, and our eyes to see your goodness in all answered prayer. Great is your name Father, and magnificent is the plan you have for us. Have mercy on us when we presume to pray outside your will, and forgive us for our selfish desires. Hear our prayers Heavenly Father as we pray just as Jesus did... that your will be done. Let us serve you in both joy and sorrow, even in our suffering unto death, because in all things we are brought to good in you, and will be raised to sit at your table forevermore.
Rich Forbes