“Today as you pray, remember to ask God that His will be done concerning your prayers... You will find that what the Father gives His children is far greater than you could have possibly imagined... Even when the answer is “no”.”
My devotional message today was titled "God's Will be Done". As I pray each day I lift up my desires, needs, and those of others, before him, but I also envelope those requests in a plea that His will be done in regards to them.
Our unending prayers are the very substance of our spiritual lives, earthly lives, and indeed our humanity. They encapsulate all those things we seek and long for in holiness and lift them before God, but sometimes we fall short in the godliness of our desires, or remain blind to the consequences of our petition. It is for this reason that Jesus taught us to pray "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven". God's will is perfect.
I think about times when I have prayed repeatedly for something only to feel as though God had turned a deaf ear to me. Then, later I could see that the ultimate outcome of His simple word "no" had saved me from some larger harm that I could not have predicted... or provided me with an even greater blessing. Have you ever prayed for relief from suffering only to have it come after receiving some insight into God or a blessing of the spirit or a relationship you could not have experienced otherwise?
One lesson that we receive in times such as this is humility. There is a difference in praying with authority and praying as though you have the authority. Even Jesus said in John 5:30:
"I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
Then he reiterated in John 6:38
“For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.”
For all we think we are and in as much as we feel we are deserving... We are nothing outside the will of God. We are lost to ourselves.
Today as you pray, remember to ask God that His will be done concerning your prayers... You will find that what the Father gives His children is far greater than you could have possibly imagined... Even when the answer is "no".
Father, I thank you for hearing my prayers and leading me to understand your will for me. I thank you for watching over me and protecting me from my own human frailties and the wants that spring from them. Lord, you are a loving God and your will is good and beyond reproach. I surrender my desires to you and ask that you teach me in each instance... allowing me to feel your will, even before my prayers are lifted up. Yet, if my prayers stray, open my eyes and give me understanding, and if not understanding... then unwavering trust in you.