Praying in the Will of God (Part 2)

The Lord’s Prayer... “thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

The primary biblical categories of prayer... and there are 2, each with numerous sub-categories.

1. Petition Prayer
2. Praise Prayer
   
   • Praise prayer is all about who God is and what God has done, is doing, and will do.
   • The first Petition Prayer can be broken down into two primary sub-categories that should help us with our discussion tonight.
     
     1. Prayer within the known will of God (this is God’s decretive will)
     2. Prayer outside of the known will of God (this can be both God’s decretive will and His permissive will) - Any interest in discussing this further next week?

• The first sub-category, prayer within the known will of God, has to do with our knowledge of who God is and what God’s desires are for His children are they are spelled out for us in the scriptures.
• And I think it deserves repeating that the safest way that we can know we are praying in the will of God is to pray God’s Word.
• The second sub-category, prayer outside of the known will of God.
• And this is where we concluded our study last week.

So, when we don’t know what God’s will is for a specific situation what are some guidelines that we should follow that will help us to pray in a wise and God honoring way?

Guidelines for prayer outside of the known will of God:

1. Our prayer should be filtered through the Word of God, because the will of God is found in God’s word. (Psalm 119:9-16)
2. We must make sure that we are in right relationship.
   
   • A right relationship with God - this has to do with our unrighteousness in coming before the throne of our righteous King. To have a right relationship with God we must have no sin. To have no sin we must confess the reality that we are innately imperfect, broken human beings who consciously and unconsciously stumble into sinful things. All prayer should begin with confession and “hitpallel” a honest judgment of who we are in comparison to who God is. (1 John 1:8-9)
   • A right relationship with the brethren, the people of God. (Matthew 5:23-24)
3. We must pray with right motives. (James 4:3) - So, check your motives before you pray.
4. We must pray in Jesus’ name. (John 14:13, 15:16)
5. We must pray things that seek first the Kingdom of God.
   
   • Praying for the eternal rather than the temporal. (Matthew 6:31-34)
   • When we study the prayers of the apostles or the prayers of Jesus, we notice they have nothing to do with temporal things; rather, they have everything to do with spiritual matters. (Ephesians 1:15-19; 3:14-21)
   • When we analyze the prayer Jesus taught us to pray, we notice there is only one little request for temporal things: "Give us this day our daily bread."
   • Every other request is about spiritual issues.

Conclusion:
Tonight, as we close, something that we can do that might really help us understand how to pray when we don’t know the will of God in a specific situation is to ask ourselves a few of the following questions:

1. “What do I want?” That is, “What is my will?”
2. “Why do I want this?”
3. “Am I seeking God’s kingdom 1st and then trusting that all of the side things God is already taking care of?”
4. “Am I willing to do and/or accept God’s will regardless of my own?”

If the answer to the final question is yes it is often at this place of petition where we will discover God’s will.
Listen, choosing God's will over our own is so hard when we want something passionately. It is agonizing to act as if it doesn't matter to us. It does matter. Our emotions try to convince us there is no possible way we can give in.
However, we can submit to God's will instead of our own solely because God is absolutely trustworthy. We have faith that his love is pure.
If the answer is no, it is best to ask for the intercessory prayer of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:26)
In conclusion I must add that prayer is not about phrasing everything perfectly, or using the correct formula in the exact right way.
Prayer is about communicating with God from our hearts, in an honest, loving relationship.
Sometimes we get too concerned about technique and forget that God knows our hearts and understands our human imperfections.


Side Notes for personal reference:

• Paul’s prayer for knowing God’s will - Colossians 1:9-12
• Excellent resource for biblical examples on how to pray in different situations (i.e. Despair, Broken-hearted, Illness, Thankful) - http://christianity.about.com/od/prayersverses/a/howtopray.htm
• Resource #2 - http://www.anchoryourlife.com/prayer/scrip_pray.htm
• Most prayers recorded in Scripture were answered yes. But I find it interesting that even Paul's prayer about the thorn, which God answered differently than Paul desired, gives us encouragement to be bold and direct with our requests.
• In praying for personal healing we should remember how we approach a doctor or medical professional for help. We never qualify a request for a doctor's help with "if you wish." We wouldn't say, "Please help me find a cure for this back pain if you're willing to do so." Rather, we'd explain our need plainly to the doctor and respectfully ask for the best help he or she is able to provide. How much more freedom should we feel to bring requests for healing boldly to the Great Physician!
• We should take heart also in the fact that Jesus gave at least as much attention during his earthly ministry to healing physical and emotional wounds people experienced as he did to teaching doctrinal truth. He demonstrated vividly that it is God's nature to bring comfort--and often healing--to those who who are ill. We shouldn't feel squeamish about asking God to bring healing when it's needed, to others or ourselves.