According to His Will
Can we talk today about a topic that might be frustrating to many of you?
I know that this topic certainly has been frustrating to me from time to time … but it also has been extraordinarily fulfilling when I give myself entirely to it with passion and with reckless abandon.
The topic is a 4-letter word.
Pray.
I have spent years of my life frustrated because none of my prayers seemed to be answered. Can any of you relate? Come on now … don’t leave me alone here in the conundrum of prayer.
I have also experienced great joy and victory simply because I decided to pray without ceasing.
You see, praying requires a tenacity that is uncommon to most of us who live in the Western world.
We are used to fast food … microwave meals … and quick Internet service.
“God never hurries. There are no deadlines against which He must work. Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.” - Tozer
None of us has time to wait … or so we think.
But the truth is this …
Praying often requires waiting.
Praying requires patience.
Praying requires discipline.
Praying requires a resolute decision to persevere through time and through disappointment.
I have learned that to make a difference in prayer … it might just take some guts!
“Not to pray because you do not feel fit to pray is like saying, “I will not take medicine because I am too ill.” – Charles Spurgeon
There was an “A-Ha!” moment in my prayer life when everything … and I do mean everything … turned around for me.
It was a miracle realization that I had not been partnering with God in my prayers but had been led by my emotions.
I was reading my Bible one day and came upon this significant verse:
“This is the confidence which we have before Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” I John 5:14-15
This is a “WOW!”scripture! Let me explain …
We can be confident, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if we ask anything that is according to His will that we are heard by the God of the universe!
Let that sink in for a minute …
Then … because we know that He hears us … we KNOW that we have the requests that we have asked from Him.
What?! Could that really be true?! It seems almost too good to be true, doesn’t it?
The caveat in this verse is found in the phrase “according to His will”.
How is it possible for a human being to know what the will of God is?
I’m so glad you asked because there is an answer to that question! It’s a wonderful answer, indeed!
We can discover God’s will by reading His Word.
God’s will is found in His Word.
“We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on our difficulties.” – Oswald Chambers
So, today, what I would like to share with you are some of my favorite “go-to” scriptures as I pray. These are the verses that connect me to the Will of God in any situation in life.
Prepare for your prayer life to be radically changed!!
When I pray for an unsaved loved one:
“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” – II Peter 3:9
“Father, Your Word says that it is not Your will for anyone to perish but for all to come to repentance. I come to you on behalf of (insert name) today and ask that You send the Holy Spirit after him/her. I thank You in advance that You are working behind the scenes to bring this loved one into Your Kingdom.”
When I pray for provision:
“For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin …
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? …
Do not worry then, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear for clothing?”
… for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” – Matthew 6:25-32
“Jesus, You yourself have told us not to worry about provision but to trust You instead. So today I declare that I trust You about my bills, about my finances, about my food, about my clothing, about my home and about anything that I or my family might need. I thank You that You are a good, good Father and that my needs are on Your mind today. I thank You in advance for providing for me and for my family in Jesus’ Name.”
When I pray for healing:
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities and Who heals all your diseases.” – Psalm 103:2-3
“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.” – Psalm 107:19-20
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5
“Jesus, I thank You that You are a healing God! Thank You that You are well able to heal all of my diseases. Thank You that when your Words collide with a disease or a sickness – that Your Word always wins! And Jesus, I thank You that we are healed by the stripes that were placed upon Your back. You are my Healer and I thank You in advance for healing to flood through my body in Jesus’ Name.”
When I pray for my children:
“For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11
“Let our sons in their youth be as grown-up plants, and our daughters as corner pillars fashioned as for a palace.” – Psalm 144:12
“Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” – Proverbs 22:6
“Jesus I thank You that You have a wonderful plan for each of my children’s lives. I pray that they will mature and be strong believers in Your house and for Your Kingdom. I thank You that they will remember the Word of God that I taught them during their childhood years. I thank You, Jesus, that they will not depart from serving You or loving You when they are old.”
When I pray to overcome depression:
“Therefore with joy you shall draw waters from the wells of salvation.” – Isaiah 12:3
“In His presence there is fullness of joy.” – Psalm 16:11
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13
“Lord, I thank You that when I was saved an entirely new well was opened to me for refreshment and for nourishment! I thank You that now I have access to the well of joy. I also thank You that as I spend time with You that I will experience all of the joy that I need this side of heaven. I thank You, Father, that even today you are filling me with joy and peace and an abundance of hope. “
“Prayer lays hold of God’s plan and becomes the link between His will and its accomplishment on earth. Amazing things happen, and we are given the privilege of being the channels of the Holy Spirit’s prayer.” – Elisabeth Elliot
Thanks for listening to my heart this week. As you know by now, my heart is truly not a perfect heart but it is a heart that is filled to overflowing with gratitude for the life I have been given and for the people who walk with me. And, it continues to be a heart that is relentlessly chasing after God and all that He is!