Part 2- Praying in the Will of God

God has blessed all of us with unique gifts and abilities, and they are demonstrated in different ranges. Take the gift of song for instance. Some of us can carry a tune, but our performances are best left to the showers, with an audience of one. Others of us can sing quite nicely and stay in key; we’ve even had a few solos here and there. However, the third group are the folks that can ‘sho’nuff sang’, and they have powerhouse voices that blow you away. A small slice of the latter group become extremely successful and popular, entertaining the masses and receiving tremendous accolades and adoration. I have a friend that is very gorgeous, charismatic, and has a great personality. We grew up together, and for as long as I’ve known her, she’s wanted to be a singer. She dreams of performing in sold-out arenas and packed concert halls. She wants to be the singer that entertains the masses, but the issue she’s ignored for quite some time is that her voice is one of the ‘shower’ variety.

Hebrews 11:1 tells us that faith is the confidence that what we’re hoping for will actually happen in our lives; it is the evidence of what we’ve prayed to receive. Even though it hasn’t actually arrived yet, faith is our title deed that the blessing is on its way. Elaine, my friend, is a champion of having faith, and it is really inspiring to witness her confidence. God is faithful to His Word and He always keeps His promises, but spiritual maturity requires us to have more than a little bit of knowledge about what those promises are.

2Timothy 2:15(NIV) tells us, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” When you have been praying as long as Elaine has about becoming the next big singing sensation, and nothing is opening up, there are steps that Heavenly Father has told us to take. The first one is in 2Timothy 2:15, and it is simply to go to God’s Word, learn the truth, and begin to put it into practice.

Proverbs 19:21(NLT) says, “You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.” God’s plan prevails, and any plan that you and I may have is secondary to His Will and Plan going forward. So, it stands to reason that our very best approach is going to be to find out what God wants and follow that. What He wants is always going to be the absolute best for everyone concerned. The Lord’s purpose prevails, and this includes the purpose He has for our lives. Ephesians 1:11(NLT) states, “Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.” God knows what we ought to be doing with our lives. He knows how we should do it, where we should do it, and when we should do it. He is waiting on us to humble ourselves and allow Him to guide us through all of this, so that we get to the place He’s destined us to be.

Sometimes we pray for things that are outside God’s Will, and we refuse to change gears because deep down we think our way is better than God’s way. We must pray for things that are in alignment with what the Father has for us. The Lord’s purpose shall prevail. Therefore, we must come into agreement with the Father.

There are times where we want to hold tight to the things that are hindering us, the things that are weighing us down. Let’s face it, we gravitate to some of these relationships, people, and situations because they are familiar and comfortable, but they are keeping us from growing and maturing in Christ the way we should. For some of us, even the thing we are praying to receive currently will weigh us down further, but we still want it. This is why we need to pray diligently to the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, and be committed to follow His guidance. He will speak to us and direct our paths if we allow Him.

We cannot reach up to our Heavenly Father to receive what He has for us if both hands are already full of baggage. God wants us to be the happiest that we can. Our trust in Him is the best way to achieve this. He tells us to put on more knowledge about Jesus Christ so that we will learn what He requires of us, and we will also learn how to meet His expectations. This knowledge about love, giving, sharing, patience, compassion, and joy is what equips you and me to release the heavy stuff, so we have room for the good stuff. When we come to God without knowing how to walk in Christ this way, not knowing how to put on more of his love, God isn’t going to turn us away; quite the contrary. If we’re willing, He will help us to learn about His Will so we can pray effectively.

Romans 12:2 says that we should not be conformed, fashioned, in accordance with, or matched to the world. Instead, God commands us to make our minds brand new by learning about Him through Jesus Christ. When we do this, we will be able to discern, decipher, distinguish, and identify what God’s Will is. We’ll begin to understand our purpose as He makes the path of it clearer. Jesus tells us in John 15:5 that those who remain in him produce much fruit, but apart from Christ, we can’t do anything. He doesn’t want our joy to be less. He wants our joy to be full, and this is why he has given us such extraordinary good news to share with others. We were born to serve this purpose. Every gift, talent, and ability he has given us should be employed to satisfy that one foundational purpose of telling others about Christ. When this becomes our priority in life and the focus of our prayers, we’ll pray effectively, and we will please our Heavenly Father. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.“

Praying Effectively: Part 2- Praying in the Will of God”, written for Springfield Fellowship, Inc. Copyright© 2020. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

• Praying Effectively-Part 1
• Praying Effectively: Part 2
• Praying Effectively: Part 3
• Praying Effectively: Part 4
• Praying Effectively: Part 5
• Praying Effectively: Part 6
• Praying Effectively: Part 7
• Praying Effectively: Part 8
• The Christ-like Personality of Prayer
• The Right Attitude of Prayer
• We Can Pray for Anything!