What is praying according to God’s will? (Part Two)

From the desk of Dr. Robert L. Taylor, Th.D. Why is it that many of our prayers go unanswered, causing us to experience awkwardness (causing difficulty; hard to do or deal with) when it comes to prayer? Concerning prayer, I want to focus on what John says. We read, “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” (1 John 5:14-15). What is our confidence in? According to John, it’s in God hearing us. Notice where our confidence comes from. It comes by asking “anything according to His will.” Let me say, if you take the Scriptures at all seriously on this subject, God is offering us an amazing resource! Yet in spite of this amazing offer, my guess is that relatively few of us spend consistent time or energy praying this way. There are many possible reasons for this—but for many of us the main reason is that we seldom see God answer our requests. A great motivation to prayer is answered requests! To the extent that we see few requests answered, we tend to pray less. Why does God answer some prayer requests, but not others? Are there conditions to be met before the requests are granted? Yes, they are asking according to His will. How may we know what God’s will is? God’s commandments are the very expression of His will for us, and for that reason we may be sure that we can pray for whatever help or enablement we need to carry them out! If the request is for help in doing the commandments of God can we expect God to hear and grant such a request? Yes, we can! Asking according to God’s will involves focusing on God’s priorities. The more your perspective is soaked in God’s Word, the more you will pray according to its priorities, and the more you will see God answer your requests. When we don’t know God’s priorities, we will naturally pray for our own priorities—which is bent towards selfishness. God doesn’t hear or respond to selfish requests. When this is what dominates your prayer requests, your batting average is going to be zero, and your motivation to pray is going to diminish! Try praying primarily for God’s priorities—and see what happens! Here are some examples: Ask God for more practical insight into Scripture so that you can become more godly in character and behavior (Psalm 119:33-34). Ask God for better understanding of what He’s given you in Christ (Ephesians 1:16-19) and how much God loves you (Ephesians 3:18,19) so you can grow, develop, and mature spiritually. Ask God for greater love for other people (1 Thessalonians 3:12) and better discernment on how to love them effectively (Philippians 1:9-11). Those are God’s priorities! Be encouraged!