I have a little tag line at the top left of my e-letters says, “Praying Gods will into existence.” I draw that from the Lord’s Prayer; “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
I’m a little slow sometimes, but in over four years of writing nearly every week, I have given little space specifically to the topic of prayer. It is easy to think we know what prayer is. “Talking to God” is a common answer. I would change that to “Talking with God,” but even that change barely scratches the surface.
When I am not writing these posts, I spend a lot of time praying. I pray in groups large and small, I pray at home and abroad, literally. I pray for individuals and nations. To the best of my ability, I pray according to the will of God. In order for that to happen, I have become a student of the Bible over the last 40 or so years. Going forward I hope to share a bit more about what I have learned across those decades of experience. Today I want to begin laying some groundwork.
Jesus said: “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” (John 14:14) THAT’S a pretty big promise. I love it! To pray in His name is to pray according to the will of God. “Your Kingdom come, your will….” So how do we know the will of God? We use the Bible as our standard for hearing God reliably. God wants us to know His will so much he sent Jesus as John describes Him saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
As we learn the will of God, according to the word of God, then we can pray that will into existence.
Jesus often called his followers sheep. “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:27) It is possible to hear the will of God.
I often think of prayer based more on the word intercession than talking. Intercession is a legal term. An intercessor is a go between, just like a Lawyer or Advocate goes between a Defendant and the Judge. To receive a favorable answer to pray, the intercessor must know the rules of the court…found in the Bible.
1 John 2:1 tells us Jesus is our advocate, our go between. God the Father is head of the family. He sent Jesus to clear the way for us to be able to enter the presence of the Father. The Father is like the Judge in this illustration.
Jesus said of the third person of the Trinity, “You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” John 14:17b…” the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26) These three are all God and they invite us in to intercede.
As we learn to depend on God and His word, we learn to pray His will into existence. Prayer moves from a random or selfish wish list to a collaborative effort to make good things happen. Praying is one of the most enjoyable things I do. Collaborating with God is an adventure.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” (Jeremiah 33:3) God is inviting you to call on Him. Let’s pray to see and hear the hidden things. There is so much to learn!
