Answered Prayer

I attend a weekly bible study for women, sponsored by my church.  This past week, our challenge was to dig into the Word on the subject of prayer.  A vast subject for sure!  As I spent time thinking and reading the Word, I realized something awesome, and I'd like to share it with you.

1 John 5:14-15 states:  "This is the confidence we have in approaching God:  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 what we asked of Him." (NIV)

It seems pretty simple to me.  If we're praying according to God's will, not only are we assured that God has heard us, but we're also assured that we have what we've asked for.   I know, you're probably thinking "yes, that's great.  But how does a person know if they're praying according to God's will?" The million dollar question.  According to Ephesians 5:17, we are admonished to understand the will of the Lord.  It states, "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Since God put that statement in His Word we must be able to do it, otherwise He wouldn't have put it in the Bible.  So that begs the question how does one understand the Lord's will?

One way we can absolutely, positively know the Lord's will is by observing the life and ministry of Jesus.  Hebrews 1:3 states that Jesus is the "express image" (exact representation) of Father God.  Jesus himself stated that He only did what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19)!  So we can look at what Jesus did and know that it was and is God's will.  What things did Jesus do?  Let's take a look (because if Jesus did it, we can take it to the bank - it's God will):

-Healed the sick, weak and lame (in fact, He healed every sick person that came to Him except those from His hometown-not because He couldn't but because of the people's unbelief!)

-Raised the dead

-Cast out demons

-Paid taxes

-Ministered to children

-Ushered in grace and truth, which turned the religious system upside down

I'm sure there are more aspects of His life and ministry, but I'm going to stop there.  Let me just add, if you're wondering whether it is God's will to heal you (or someone you know), let me clue you in:  IT IS! If you're wondering whether it's God's will for you to pay your taxes, IT IS! I think you're starting to catch my drift here.

But then comes the question about things specific to your own personal life, that aren't covered in the bible.  Things like, do I marry this person?  Do I take this job?  Do we move to this new city? In what environment should my children be educated?  Do I commit to this volunteer opportunity?  The questions are endless.  James 1:5 tells us to pray for wisdom and stand in faith on our request without wavering, and we'll receive!  God will actually make known to us the wisdom we need for any given situation.  Take Him at His Word and try it.  Also, let's not forget the Holy Spirit's role in prayer.  Romans 8:26 says, "...the Spirit helps us in our weakness.  We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." It goes on to say in verse 27 that the Holy Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.  Yay for the Holy Spirit.

To summarize, we have a general revelation of God's will for our lives through Scripture, specifically Jesus' life and ministry.  We have the Holy Spirit to pray on our behalf for things we don't know what to pray for.  And we can pray for wisdom from God for the rest of it.  I think that about covers it!

P.S.  Sometimes it's easy to get bogged down in a problem or challenging situation and forget to pray for wisdom.  I've been in that position before countless times, but when I remember to pray for wisdom, God has always answered my prayer.  The answer is usually not immediate, but the answer does come. 

image: Graur Razvan Ionut/freedigitalphotos.net