Topic: When His Will Prevails In Prayer
Text: Luke 11: 1-2
Key Verse: And He said unto them, “When ye pray, say: Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in Heaven, so on Earth. – Luke 11:2 KJ21
The will of God in prayer is another very critical part of prayer. Access to God’s presence can be a hurdle for so many, ranging from fear, shame, feelings of inadequacy, and guilt. The results from your time before the King largely depend on your alignment to his will in your prayers.
The concept of God’s will on Earth as it is in Heaven is not in many versions of this text in the Bible. I believe that the assumption is that when we pray for God’s kingdom to come, we are aware of its implications; we are simply asking that everything on Earth should give way and be in submission to the will of God as his kingdom comes.
The necessity to ask for the will of God in prayer started in the Garden of Eden, but Eve missed it. Her desire to have the fruit and the command of God came to a head-on collision. She had reasons why she needed to eat that particular fruit, they sounded reasonable and made sense, but they were contrary to the will of the Father.
It became a battle of wills, God’s will against man’s will; the latter prevailed. If only she had asked in prayer, maybe God could have shown her the ripple effect of her choice in years to come!
Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven is a prayer that acknowledges God’s kingdom rule in righteousness, peace, and joy in Heaven, and a desire to see it happen here on Earth.
Praying for God’s will also imply that the Earth is under the rule of a rebellious regime, but we choose to side with the government of God.
We are certain that we come from God and that the rest of the world is under the power of the devil. – 1 John 5:19 CEV
Since there is no demilitarized zone in warfare, you are either for or against God’s kingdom. When you ask for God\’s will in prayer, it is a pledge of allegiance to the King of Kings and his kingdom.
Believers in Christ face danger in prayer, similar to that of the two sons in the story Jesus told in the gospel.
Jesus said: I will tell you a story about a man who had two sons. Then you can tell me what you think. The Father went to the older son and said, “Go work in the vineyard today!” His son told him that he would not do it, but later, he changed his mind and went. The man then told his younger son to go work in the vineyard. The boy said he would, but he didn’t go. Which one of the sons obeyed his Father? “The older one,” the chief priests and leaders answered. Then Jesus told them: You can be sure that tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you ever will! – Matthew 21:28-31 CEV
Observe the battle of wills in the sons. The will of the Father was not ambiguous; it was plain; the older son rejected it at first but later changed his man and obeyed, while the younger son did the opposite. It takes a surrendered will to obey the heavenly Father.
Jesus was a son while on Earth; he understood the consequences of death on the Cross, his will struggled to evade it, but he received help when he asked in prayer for the will of God.
Jesus walked on a little way. Then he knelt down on the ground and prayed, “Father, if it is possible, don’t let this happen to me! Father, you can do anything. Don’t make me suffer by having me drink from this cup. But do what you want, and not what I want.” – Mark 14:35
CEV
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered – Hebrews 5:8
KJV
It is wrong to think that every difficult situation should be prayed against or resisted. Christians must discern God’s will for everything. When you surrender yourself entirely to God, it is easy to determine the will of God.
So then, my friends, because of God’s great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer. Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect. – Romans 12:1-2 GNT
When we do not seek the will of God in prayer, our prayers become willful and dangerous!
Not long before it was time for Jesus to be taken up to Heaven, he made up his mind to go to Jerusalem. He sent some messengers on ahead to a Samaritan village to get things ready for him.But he was on his way to Jerusalem, so the people there refused to welcome him. When the disciples James and John saw what was happening, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to destroy these people?” But Jesus turned and corrected them for what they had said. – Luke 9:51-55 CEV
Two lessons l see here, as disciples of Jesus, we can have enough authority to call down fire to destroy our perceived enemies. Secondly, Jesus disapproved of that praying!
When a Christian engages in prayer to ask God to grant their requests when they know it is contrary to the will of God in Heaven and what is revealed in the scriptures, what would you call it? It is often a manifestation of the weakness of the flesh. Does the flesh inspire your prayers? (Anger, pride, fear, envy, or greed)
Keep watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” – Matthew 26:41
GNT
James teaches that some prayers are unanswered because they are not according to the will of God.
Yet even when you do pray, your prayers are not answered because you pray just for selfish reasons. – James 4:3 CEV
May we come in childlike trust to our heavenly Father, trusting that he knows what to do and how to do it to work in our favor.
In certain ways, we are weak, but the Spirit is here to help us. For example, when we don’t know what to pray for, the Spirit prays for us in ways that cannot be put into words.We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him. They are the ones God has chosen for his purpose. Romans 8:26,28 CEV
We have courage in God’s presence because we are sure that he hears us if we ask him for anything that is according to his will. He hears us whenever we ask him; and since we know this is true, we know also that he gives us what we ask from him. – 1 John 5:14-15 GNT
The secret to praying according to the will of God is to spend time in preparation before you come into the Father’s presence. Make inquiries about his will as revealed in Scripture, and secondly, pray in the Spirit when you are not convinced about what to ask for.
Never stop praying, especially for others. Always pray by the power of the Spirit. Stay alert and keep praying for God’s people. – Ephesians 6:18 CEV
For if I pray in this way, my Spirit prays indeed, but my mind has no part in it.What should I do, then? I will pray with my Spirit, but I will pray also with my mind; I will sing with my Spirit, but I will sing also with my mind. – 1 Corinthians 14:14-15
GNT
Prayer
Father, help me to prioritize your will in my prayers. Please teach me how to determine your will from the scriptures in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Pastor Ada
Photo by Praveen Thirumurugan on Unsplash
