Praying the Will of God

Praying the will of God is always easier when we know what His will is in any given situation; when we know generally, we are to pray in faith and trust God to sort it all out, but there are ways of finding out God's will and praying for it specifically.

I used to hear preachers talking about surrendering to God's will more often. That almost implies that we're not going to like it, but we've decided to give in to it, and this can be true for many people. They do have to overcome their strong self-will to accept God's. For those of us who know God's will is good, and we are eager to know it, we might prefer the term - embrace the will of God.

Even if we are eager to embrace God's will, we want to learn what it is. So we are praying God's will, right?

Our best training will come from observing Jesus' example. Several of His prayers are recorded in the Gospels. Study them.

We also learn from the Bible that even before we ask to have God's will revealed to us, we need to put our mind and heart in an attitude of being willing to do whatever He will say to us. We do NOT ask to see a menu of options, and then choose the one we like best. Perhaps that is exactly why surrender to God's will is often an issue. We really don't respect and trust God enough to to choose His will blindly. Unreservedly.

John, one of Jesus' most intimate disciples, wrote later in I John 5:14, "This is the assurance we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." Is that enough for us? If He hears us He will answer. If we have to know the answer first, do we trust Him?

In the Lord's Prayer, also known as the Disciples' Prayer, for He taught it to them, Jesus taught us to pray for God's wail to be done. Matthew 6:10 quotes the prayer very specifically, "...Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Our attitude should be that of urging God to carry out His will here on earth, and particularly in our own lives.

There is much we can learn about God's will simply from studying the Bible. The ten commandments touch on every area of our lives. They tell us what is God's will and what is not. So do many, many other passages in the Bible. Being very familiar with the Bible's teachings helps us to check any doubtful issue quickly through that grid to find out if God will permit or allow the matter we must decide. Get the Big Picture. Why would God set those limits for us?

However, there are more specific issues that may not be mentioned in any Bible verse. Our recourse then, is to pray and ask God for clear guidance. If after that we wait quietly to listen for His Spirit, speaking to our spirit, we may soon know the prompting of God's Spirit.

We can ask our spiritual advisors and counsellors. That is, our pastors or the more mature and godly Christians in our lives. But even then, listen for the confirmation of God's Spirit in you, which God has placed in you upon your point of faith for salvation.

We can be praying the will of God once we have determined it specifically, or, we can ask for His will to be done in our life, and others, with an eager attitude to do it as soon as we recognize it. God will honour such prayers and attitude.

When others give us prayer requests, we pray the will of God to be done, confident that He will hear and answer such prayers. Even, and especially - when we don't know what would be best in that situation, we know by faith that God's will is safe and good, and the best thing to pray.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit confirms to our spirit that a more specific request is God's will. Asking for that specific answer finds us praying the will of God. The sense of satisfaction and pleasure that brings can motivate us to constantly soak up Scripture, and seek to know the Lord's heart, so that we can again and again be praying God's will to be done.

However, as already said, we do well to be praying God's will whether we know all the details or not. It is safe. It is best!