Should we Pray According to God's Will or According to His Word?

Many years ago, I believed that when you pray, you should always pray according to God's will, and this sometimes amounted to very general, and not always heartfelt prayers of faith.  I didn’t really know of any other way, or additional way to pray.  For me, I thought it meant a passive resignation to let things be, and that there would be nothing more for me to do. Whatever happened, happened.  The problem with praying this way, however, is that it in no way grew my faith, and it did not always yield the results that I was hoping for. It also did little to nothing to increase the faith of the people I was praying for. Also, I was not drawn closer in relationship to God. 

When you think of it, can you really pray effectively if you don't know God's will?  Scripture is abundantly clear that God wants us to know His will.  For one thing, Jesus said that we are His friends, not His servants, and He has made ALL THINGS known unto us!! 

Joh 15:15  Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 

God has always revealed His will to those who are close to Him.  Scripture records it over and over again.  There is absolutely no doubt that He wants to be in close relationship with us, and this includes our prayer life especially, the times when we stop what we're doing and talk to Him. 

If we pray "only" according to His general will, this can become a religious, fearful, unbelieving ritual.  We take our hands off completely, and we let God take control.  Now we can relax and not involve our faith at all.  We can start to become lazy, but "Faith without works is dead" (see James 2:17-26).  Without faith we cannot please Him (see Hebrews 11:6).  If we don't take Him at His Word, how can we say that we really believe in Him? 

Here is a question:  Do our prayers fill us with peace? Joy? More love for the Lord? Adoration? Worship?  Or is it just a passive resignation that we hope He hears and answers, and now we're done with it, but we have little assurance that He will answer? 

Php 4:6    Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Php 4:7    And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

The disciples didn't know how to pray, and so they asked The Lord.  An important part of the Lord's Prayer mentions God's will being done. 

Mat 6:10    Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 

Wow! That is a powerful prayer!  But there's more.  In the following verse, it is also something we participate in: 

Mat 16:19    And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 

When we bind and loose, things happen in the supernatural.  This works when we need healing, finances, and any other number of things.  It is very powerful.  If Jesus gave us these keys, then He did for a very good reason, and we must make use of them. 

God wants us to know His specific will. We do this by renewing our mind: 

Rom 12:2    And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

Without getting into the Word, we will not transform our minds, nor will we know the will of God.  We will be so filled and focused with the thoughts of the world around us, and the many messages they send, that we will not be in tune with the Word of God, much less begin to understand His will.  The more we get into the Word, the more we understand what His specific will is. 

A way to ensure that we are praying according to God's will is to realize that the Holy Spirit is already making intercession for us.  We need to wait on Him, and also ask Him what specific prayer is needed, since He already knows anyway.  When we pray, we need to ask for His leading, for He is there to help us, and He wants to participate with us in the prayer: 

Rom 8:26    Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

Not until recently did I discover another way to pray, and that is to pray according to God's Word, and there's a big difference. When we literally speak God's Word, things happen.  His Word goes forth because it is living and active.  The angels respond and start to carry it out.  God responds to His Word.  When He hears it, He honors it.  But this is where we must understand what His will is, and ensure that it is not our own will.  This is where we can start to get confused, and start praying according to our will and not His will.  Regardless of the outcome, God desires that we pray IN FAITH BELIEVING, and even the faith we have is what He has already given us (see Hebrews 12:2a).   

And after we pray, we must continue to believe, and this is extremely important, because the devil will come around, and try and do his dirty work – he will try to steal, kill, and destroy (see Matthew 10:10).  He will try to destroy our faith with thoughts of doubt, fear and unbelief.  We must not give him a chance to do this.  We need to stand firm believing in God's Word instead, no matter how bleak things may look.   

Heb 10:23    Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 

The purpose of speaking God's Word, also increases our faith and the faith of those whom we are praying for.  

Rom 10:8    But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

Rom 10:9    That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Rom 10:10    For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 

Notice in verse 9 in the following, it says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth."  Notice again in verse 10, "with the mouth confession is made." 

Clearly, we need to pray both according to God's will, and according to His Word.  How do we do this?  First, we need to be in the Spirit, and not rely on our own understanding, or the flesh, to try and figure things out.  It is simply by doing what is suggested above in Romans 8:26 – we ask for the Holy Spirit's help and guidance, then we pray according to His leading.  After we pray, we need to stand firm in our faith that the Lord has heard and He is already answering.  A wonderful response is to also begin to thank Him.  By this time, we should be experiencing His peace and an assurance that He has both heard and He is also honoring our heartfelt prayer that has been uttered according to His will, and is in line with His Word.

Is Our Suffering of the Flesh or of the Spirit?

One of the most difficult things we can go through in life is when we or a loved one are ill in some way, and suffering.  This has recently been my experience, and I did not handle it well at all.  When illness suddenly hits a loved one, your whole world can feel like it is falling apart.  You can also go on a very disturbing and turbulent roller coaster ride with your emotions, as you see your loved one maybe show some improvement, and then the next day, no improvement.  In my own situation, I cried out to God and I prayed hard.  In fact, I prayed until I had a personal breakthrough to get some peace about it.  So I'd like to share what the Lord showed me about suffering.  He directed me to the following verses:

 2Ti 1:7    For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

2Ti 1:8    Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

2Ti 1:9    Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

2Ti 1:10    But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

 The Lord gave me these Scriptures to show me that there are two kinds of suffering; one is to suffer in the flesh, and the other is to suffer in the spirit.  The second one has a purpose and it has power with it to overcome the suffering.  As Christians, we will suffer, but we are to only suffer for the furtherance of the Gospel.  Any other type of suffering is of the flesh, and manifests out of a heart of unbelief.  Unbelief is most pronounced when we are under severe trial.  When unbelief is present, fear comes in.  That's when we start to fall apart because we are not putting our trust in God.  When we put our trust in God, He gives us a peace that passes all human understanding.

 Suffering must be in accordance with His purpose and grace.  He gives grace where needed.  In other words, He gives us a buffer to deaden the pain as if it never existed.  While I was thinking about the two kinds of suffering, I realized that I had been suffering in the flesh because I was afraid.  I wasn't putting my trust in God for myself or my loved one.  The following verse also kept coming to mind:

 Psa 112:7    He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.

Every time I had a fearful thought, the Lord said that I was stepping into a land mine of fear, and I should get out quick.  When we are abiding in the Lord, our heart is stable, not fearful. There will be no rapid heartbeats or heart pounding because we will be filled with peace instead.

Fear blocks peace and blocks us from receiving the many Promises in God's Word that are ALREADY ours to take.  We are not given a spirit of fear, but love (without this we have insecurity), power (without this we are weak), a sound mind (without this we are confused and unable to make sound decisions).  All of these things, insecurity, weakness, and confusion are things of the flesh.  When we despair, we are not trusting in the Lord that He knows what He is doing.  The Lord wants to comfort us, but we must let go the fear, and take His Hand instead of clinging to the fear.

Have you ever wondered how the men in the Bible were able to withstand suffering and persecution?  They were in the spirit, not the flesh.  In other words, you can still have pain, grief, and so on, but no fear.  God gives you power, love and wisdom to overcome it and see you through.

Just remember that fear brings torment, and this is not of God.  Sometimes you have to deliberately fight hard against the fear.  You have to fight it until it leaves by using Scripture, and declaring the Word of God which always SUPERSEDES the fear.  When others pray and the prayers aren't getting through, it is likely fear that is blocking them.  The person you are praying for has to also let go of their own fear, command it to go until it is gone, then receive Jesus peace, their healing, and all the promises.  Fear will impede healing, faith will bring it to pass.

We also need to RECEIVE the promises just like when we get saved, we have to receive Jesus into our heart.  So we and those we pray for have to receive the healing, and let the fear go.

Every fearful thought is not of God, but we must be vigilant to not allow fear to overrule, and then fall victim to needlessly suffering in the flesh.  God has given us equipment to go through the suffering -- love, power and a sound mind.  When we dare to trust regardless of what we see in the physical, peace will be ours, and hope will fill our hearts.

 

HOW TO BE HOLY & FEAR GOD - PART 2

In the previous blog I shared my own personal experience with the holiness of God and the fear of God.  This blog is a continuation of this important issue.  The guest on the Christian TV show that I recently saw who was talking about holiness and the fear of God quoted 2 Corinthians 7:1: 

Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 

This verse is where people can start to think that holiness has something to do with what WE do, and herein lies the danger and the confusion.  If we try to be holy in the same way that we would try to gain salvation by our own works, we are bound to fail.  It is like us trying to live a sinless life.  We will fail.  Only Jesus lived a sinless life.  This doesn't mean we are not to live holy lives, for Scripture exhorts us to do so, as the following testifies: 

1Pe 1:13    Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

1Pe 1:14    As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

1Pe 1:15    But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

1Pe 1:16    Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 

So what does this mean to be holy without resorting to our own works that are bound to fail?  When I think back to my own previous study about holiness when I wrote my book, Victory Over Backsliding, and when I also studied it in Bible School, I learned that holiness means to "be separate," or, "set apart." 

2Co 6:14    Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

2Co 6:15    And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

2Co 6:16    And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

2Co 6:17    Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

2Co 6:18    And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. 

How do we separate ourselves? We must be aware of our idols.  In my research for the book about backsliding, I discovered that it was idolatry that was the downfall of Israel time and again.  Idolatry will affect our hearts and we will no longer sense the awesomeness of His presence.  When idolatry is present, we must consecrate our hearts, walk away, and renounce anything in our lives that has taken the rightful place of God.  This can be any number of things.  Idolatry results from taking on the ways of the world, anything that takes our affections away from God, and anything that takes His place.  We need to regularly and fearlessly be willing to let God take inventory of our own heart, and by prayer and the revelation of God, let Him reveal to us what our idols are that are subtly taking His place.   

Holiness doesn't mean asceticism, like physically separating ourselves from the world around us and living in a cave, or wearing special clothes to differentiate ourselves, or following religious ritual to show people how holy we are. It has to do with our own heart.  God knows our heart already, and if we are allowing Him first place.  He wants to be Lord of us no matter what the personal cost to us.  This is the true test of a holy life - are we willing to obey Him?

HOW TO BE HOLY & FEAR GOD - PART 1

In my previous blog, I talked about some confusion surrounding the fact of our assured salvation, and that some people believe we can lose our salvation if we do not do enough good works.  Today, I'd like to talk about another area where confusion sometimes arises, and it has to do with living a holy life and fearing God. 

A very popular speaker and author of several Christian books with topics timely for today has written a book to address what it means to fear the Lord, and he also talks about holiness for every Christian.  The two must go together, holiness and the fear of God. One of the things we must be very careful of, when it comes to understanding holiness and the fear of God, is that we don't get into our own works to try and bring things about.  It is not about being religious, it is about recognizing who God is, and how we are to respond to Him. 

In thinking about how to live a holy life, in addition to looking at many Scriptures, and what I had already been taught, and what has been revealed through God's Word, I had to look back on my own life in order to begin to understand what it means to me to live a holy life and fear God.  So I will begin with sharing my own experience with fearing God.

I confess that I was once a backslidden Christian, and I was filled with a fear of God, not a holy reverential fear, but a terror of the Lord for how He was going to punish me for living a life NOT according to His Word.  This fear came to a head when I suffered with a nervous breakdown.  Part of that terror was real because I was in a head-on collision, and I became unconscious.  During that time, I entered into another realm, and I knew I was dying unless the Lord spare me and let me wake up.  During those terrifying moments (maybe 20 minutes?), my life flashed before me, and I felt my life slipping away.  I had absolutely no idea that I was even saved at that point, and I KNEW BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THAT HELL IS REAL, and I was on my way there unless God would intervene.  Dear friends, please DO NOT let anyone persuade you that hell is not a real place, because it is.  We need to warn people. 

2Co 5:10    For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

2Co 5:11a   Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;  

It is interesting that this car accident did nothing to change my heart, but added a great deal of nervous fear and anxiety in general.  And so I continued living my backslidden lifestyle.  All that time, deep down in my heart, I wanted out, but sin had not yet finished its course in my life, and I had to experience it in full before it finally died, and I got to live again, to live a brand new life in Jesus.  So you can be in the midst of living a sinful life, you can pray for release from your sin which has you under its bondage, but until it (sin) has run its course, God knows you will not be ready to give Him your all.  If we read Romans 7, the Apostle Paul explains how sin reigns and rules in our fleshly body until Jesus delivers us from it. 

It wasn't until a few years later, after the accident, that I came face to face with the reverential fear of God, and for the first time ever in my life, I understood a Holy God, and I understood what holiness means.  He brought me to a place where I could finally let the sin go, and instead, love Him with all my heart, soul, strength and mind.  I understood holiness while I stood in His sweet and powerful presence, and I repented of all my sin, and He took it all away instantaneously.  I was washed clean, and then filled with a love that I can't explain to this day!  The terror type of fear of God was gone, and in its place a reverential AWE OF GOD to think that He would love me like that filled my being!  This is how I understand the fear of God -- a Holy God forgave a sinner like me, and He will remember my sins no more.  HOLINESS AND THE FEAR OF GOD IS THE RECOGNITION OF A PERFECT GOD LOVING UNDESERVED SINNERS LIKE US!  It is realizing what He did for us, suffering and dying for us on a cruel cross and BECOMING OUR SIN for us, so that we would escape eternal punishment and separation from Him.  He wiped our black slate clean.  What a wonderful Savior! 

That is the reverential fear of God – it is when we respond to the awesomeness of God with singleness of heart, and we are in awe of Him.  From such an experience, we willingly and gladly submit our heart and life to Him on a daily basis.  The fear of God is to realize who we are in light of who He is, that we are unworthy to be the recipients of such an unconditional love.   

To try and live a holy life apart from repentance of our own sin is IMPOSSIBLE.  No one knows their own heart, only God does.  David lived with unconfessed sin for two years before he repented of it, and David was considered a friend of God.  How could this happen?  Well, sin hardens our hearts and sears our consciences, so we will continue living a sinful life until God deals with us.  God used a prophet Nathan to remind David of his unconfessed sin.  When it was revealed to David, he cried out one of the most beautiful prayers of repentance ever recorded in the Bible: 

Psa 51:2    Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Psa 51:3    For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

Psa 51:7    Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Psa 51:10    Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Please stay tuned for Part 2.