PRAYING ACCORDING TO GOD’S WILL

“What if it’s not God’s will?” This may be one of the questions when one brings up the subject of praying for the sick or praying for a miracle in some other situation. This is a legitimate question. We must allow for the sovereignty of God. Romans 8:28 promises that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him…”. He may receive greater glory from not answering that prayer. Case in point: The story of Lazarus being raised from the dead in John 11. Jesus told His disciples, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe…”.

“When we declare that “by His stripes we are healed”; when we quote the Scripture “ask anything in His name and He will do it”; if we remind them that “if you have faith as small as a mustard seed”; others, and sometimes more often than not, even the person quoting those Scriptures, struggle mightily against the seemingly ever present doubt of whether God will do what His Word says because of past unanswered prayers.

As we grow older, because of things that happen to us over time, we accumulate scars. Some are more fortunate than others and don’t have many outward scars, but unfortunately, all of us carry countless unseen scars hidden inside of us. Negative and hurtful things said or done to us, or experienced by us, especially experiences that were completely unexplainable in light of the promises of God in His Word.

“How could God love us and allow that to happen?” Where was God when I needed Him?” “Why did God heal them and not me? Or why did God perform a miracle for them and not me? I’m not sure they’re even a Christian.” We have all witnessed, at some time or another, some of the most faithful, faith filled, lovers of Christ, sometimes even people that we love and hold dear to us, endure the most excruciatingly painful experiences imaginable. What do we as followers of Christ do and how do we react when nothing makes sense?

Before we try to answer that question, we must first address what our adversary is going to do in those times. “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). There is a saying in America today which most of us have probably heard. “Never let a crisis go to waste.” Of this one thing you can be confident. The first one to show up during a crisis of faith is Satan. When we are at our weakest, his attacks are the strongest. Using another analogy, when he smells blood in the water, he attacks with a frenzy. And like a shark, he will show no mercy. It’s not like Satan is going to think “Poor guy, he’s going through a really rough time. I’m going to take it easy on him.”

When Satan attacks against Christians, the most used tool in Satan ‘s toolbox, is the Word of God. A great example of this truth is whenever our Lord was driven into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted of the devil for 40 days and 40 nights. How did Satan tempt Christ? With the Word of God.

Satan will take the truth of the Word of God and turn it into a question, even as he did with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, as well as Christ in the wilderness. And, don't miss this - Satan will try to cause you to doubt, not matter what situation you find yourself in. Charles Dickens said it well: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...". It doesn't matter to him if you are in the most beautiful time of your life (Eden) or the worst of times ( in a barren wilderness. “Did God really say.” “But what if it’s not God’s will to heal? Or deliver? Or provide? What if He just wants you to trust Him.” And he will certainly call into question your faithfulness to God. He will remind you of how many times you have failed God and he may very well quote Hebrews 12:7 to you, “Endure hardship as a discipline; God is treating you as his children.” His words to you will be, “God is punishing you for your disobedience. You deserve this. Don’t fight it.” Rest assured, whatever Scripture Satan quotes, it will always be out of context or a half truth.

I am greatly indebted to David Guzik’s Commentary for much of the content in the next two paragraphs.

In 2 Kings 18 we find the record of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, attacking all the fortified cities of Judah and capturing them. He then sends his supreme commander, his chief officer and his field commander with a large army, to attack Jerusalem. The field commander requests a meeting with King Hezekiah, and King Hezekiah sends out three of his top officials to meet with the field commander. The field commander says, “Look, I know you are depending on Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff, which pierces the hand of anyone who leans on it!… but if you say to me, we are depending on the Lord our God,”… he calls into question all of Hezekiah‘s godly acts in turning the northern Kingdom back to God. He also challenges Hezekiah by saying he would give him two thousand horses if he could put riders on them. Finally, the coup de grâce, he declares that God is the one who sent him after all. He did all of this to discourage the Israelites. Hezekiah‘s top officials realized how devastating that would be to the morale of the citizens listening in on the walls of Jerusalem. So they asked the field commander to speak to them in Aramaic, since they understood it.

I love what Guzik says about this confrontation. “The enemy of our soul uses the exact same approach. Many of us picture Satan as “itching for a fight” with us. Really, Satan doesn’t want to do battle with you. First of all, there is the strong chance you will win. Second of all, win or lose, the battle can draw you closer to the LORD. Thirdly, what the LORD does in your life through the battle can be a great blessing for other people. No, Satan would much rather not fight you at all! He would much rather try to talk you into giving up!”

Satan ‘s goal is to keep you from asking God for his help and he will use the discouragement resulting from past unanswered prayers to do it. And there is not one of us, that sometime in our lives, that hasn't prayed about matters that greatly affected us and those prayers have seemingly gone unanswered.

Another of Satan ‘s goals is to create doubt. He will use God ‘s Word like a stick to hit you over the head with it. “But without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11:6). [Picture Satan with your mind’s eye hitting you over the head with a big stick – BAM! You don’t really believe He is going to heal you!]. “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do” [BAM! – I see some doubt there. You don’t have what it takes] (James 1:6-8).

Here's God’s will when we pray. Pray about everything unless the Word of God explicitly forbids it. When it comes to prayer it is as simple as that. “Casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for he cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]” (1 Peter 5:7, AMP, emphasis added). “Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving”, continue to make your [specific] request known to God (Philippians 4:6, AMP, emphasis added).

When Satan tries to put us on defense, we need to go on offense. God tells us we are to pray about everything, and we are to continue praying until we receive an answer or until God gives us a definite no, as He did to Paul. (2 Corinthians 12:6-7) When Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus in the wilderness temptation, Christ quoted Scripture back to him. Let us follow the example of our Lord.

Let me suggest a couple of Scriptures to you. There are many, many, other Scriptures as well that you can use as a sword against the enemy. Search and find them for yourself. They will mean a lot more to you, for the Lord Himself will lead you to the ones that will help you the most.

In Luke chapter 11, Jesus is teaching His disciples on prayer. Verses 9 and 10, “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

“You May ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:14).