As I talk to people who are going through tough times, one of the primary problems they face is confusion. Why is this happening? And what can I do about it?
When we are under pressure, it’s hard to think clearly. Our thoughts become cloudy as we deal with the emotions of the moment.
But there are a couple of verses nearly hidden in the 5th chapter of I John which start to push back those clouds. As we ponder those verses, we remember that God is on our side – and He answers our prayers.
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.I John 5:14
When I see that verse, I want to meditate on it – let its meaning saturate me.
If what we are praying is God’s will, and if we know that it is His will, then we will have that for which we pray. We’ll have faith in what we are praying and we’ll have whatever we ask.
So then next question, how do we know God’s will?
Simply put, God’s will is His Word. His will is wrapped up in the fact that Jesus came to earth and died for our sins. Then He rose again and sent His Holy Spirit to live in our hearts and restore us to the blessings He had ordained for us. Peace in our families, provision, health – all the blessings we see enumerated in scripture.
So we approach our Handbook – the Words ordained by our Creator to tell us who He is and who we are – the Book otherwise known as the Bible. Then we ask for guidance in finding just that part of His Word which applies to our present moment.
Then we pray. And we know that He hears us and answers our prayer.
To illustrate, I want to tell you about a young man who did just what we are talking about.
This young man’s country had been invaded by a brutal army. He had been captured – along with all of his relatives – and taken into a far country. The times were tough, but he knew his God and remained faithful to Him.
He prayed everyday – and he lived a holy life – even though mean spirited, unholy people were all around him.
Have you guessed by now who I’m talking about? I’m talking about Daniel who had been taken to Babylon.
We can read his story in the Book of Daniel.
After he was taken captive, many years passed, and then…
As Daniel was reading the “Books,” the Holy scrolls which eventually became part of the Bible, he saw where God had spoken to Jeremiah. God had said that the Jews would be in Babylon 70 years, and then He would bring them back to their country.
Daniel sat up straight. 70 years were almost passed. God had revealed the timing, and it was almost time for the Jews to be sent back home.
Daniel began to fast and pray. He knew God’s will because he had seen it in the scriptures. (Jeremiah 29:10) So he prayed for God to send them home just as He had promised. Daniel had great faith for this to happen because He had seen clearly that this was God’s plan. God’s will.
When Daniel prayed this prayer, Darius was king of Babylon. Yet shortly after, Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon and became its king. Then God began to speak to this unbeliever named Cyrus. And Cyrus started the process of sending Jews back to rebuild the ruins of their beloved country. To restore the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. (See Ezra 1:1)
Daniel prayed for God’s Word to come to pass and it did!
What would you have done? Would you have prayed for the fulfillment of God’s Word, or would you have just sat around moping and wishing God would do what he said?
Many today are doing the latter.
But there are those who are rising up. They are not settling for status quo, but they are digging into God’s Word and they are praying it back to God. And these people are seeing many miracles.
Isaiah gave us an illustration of this.
Isaiah 55:10,11 For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
So shall My Word be which goes forth from My mouth. It shall not return to Me empty Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
His Word shall not return to Him empty – without accomplishing what He sent it for. And how does it return to Him? When you pray God’s Word back to Him – asking for its fulfillment – you are returning it to Him.
Your prayers help to accomplish God’s will in your life.
That’s what Daniel did.
Now what do you do? What do I do?
Let’s find those words our Father has spoken to us, and ask for their fulfillment. When we do that, we are agreeing with God’s will and we will see the results.
When we know that we are praying God’s will, we have faith for it, and we receive what we pray.
Enough for today, we’ll talk more about this next time.
In the meantime,
Keep on Soaring,
