In His will

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. - 1 John 5v14-15

‘In His will’ are three vital words about prayer that often are forgotten. Some folks claim that ‘God loves you and wants to give you whatever you want!’ What?? Love means giving someone whatever they want? So if my child wants to play with a knife love means I give it to him?

Sorry for the mini-rant there. That bit always gets to me.

I was once chastised by a young preacher for praying in God’s will about a situation. He told me I lacked faith and that I should just “Tell God you want so and so and you want it NOW!’ Funny thing is that this chap was not a ‘name it and claim it’ preacher, but an independent Baptist!

I guess you can tell this is an issue I feel strongly about. Who do we think we are to tell God what to do and what is best for us? We can be like children demanding things from parents with no idea of the consequences.

We can have confidence when we pray if we remember one thing – our prayers must be in accord with His will. He hears whatever we ask – what a blessing. That being true we can be assured that when God does not give us what we want it is because it is not His will for us.

His will is always best. He loves us. He is involved in every aspect of our lives. He knows what is best. He acts in our best eternal interest. Just like my children did not always understand why I did not answer their request. Sometimes it was because I knew that giving it to them was not the best. Sometimes I may have just been selfish or thoughtless.

God is never thoughtless or selfish. When He does not give us what we want it is not because He does not hear us, but because He loves us and knows what is best for us.

Praise God for the confidence to pray in His will.