All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others
Be Careful what You pray for.
Some people have said to me "Be careful what you pray for" and my response is usually why?
If Jeremiah says this
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Then why should I be afraid to pray for what I think I need? Or anything else for that matter? Doesn't God already know what we need even before we ask? Why would He ever give us something bad even if we asked for it?
I'm curious what you guys think about this.
Views: 1302
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Miss Kitty on
-
THERE ARE TIMES IN LIFE WHERE WHAT WE ASK FOR ISNT ALWAYS THE BEST THING FOR US. SO WE PRAY AND PRAY FOR IT AND GET UPSET BECAUSE GOD HASNT GIVEN US WHAT WE WANT (OR WHAT WE THINK WE NEED). FINALLY AFTER NOT ACCEPTING THAT MAYBE THIS ISNT THE RIGHT TIME, MAYBE GOD HAS SOMETHING BETTER AND JUST MAYBE THERE IS SOMETHING THAT GOD WANTS TO CHANGE IN US BEFORE HE BLESSES US, HE ALLOWS US TO HAVE SAY THAT MAN OR WOMAN OR JOB, OR CAR, WHATEVER WE MAY BE ASKING FOR. INSTEAD OF SAYING OKAY LORD, IM GOING TO TRUST, AND IF THIS ISNT WHAT YOU HAVE FOR ME PUT THE BREAKS ON NOW, I ONLY WANT YOUR WILL IN MY LIFE. BY NOT ANSWERING SOME PRAYERS HE MAY BE SAVING US FROM SO MUCH HEARTACHE AND DISASTER. IT'S NOT ALL ABOUT US, ITS ALL ABOUT HIM AND HIS WILL AND PURPOSE FOR OUR LIVES. SO WE DO HAVE TO BE CAREFUL, HE MAY JUST GIVE IT TO US. WE MUST SEEK HIM WITH ALL OUR HEART AND DESIRE ONLY HIS PERFECT WILL IN OUR LIVES. DOES THIS MEAN WE ARENT GOING TO HAVE PROBLEMS, HURTS AND BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO US? NO, WHEN WE CHOOSE TO FOLLOW HIM NO MATTER WHAT HE WILL LEAD US AND GUIDE US RIGHT THROUGH IT NO MATTER WHAT THE SITUATION IS.
-
-
GOD DOES KNOW WHAT WE HAVE NEED OF BEFORE WE EVEN ASK. BUT THERE ARE TIMES HE WILL ALLOW THINGS IN OUR LIVES TO ALSO TEACH US SOMETHING, NO MATTER HOW PAINFUL IT MAY BE. IT CAN PRODUCE VERY MUCH FRUI AND DRAW US CLSER TO GOD IF.....WE ALLOW IT. THIS IS THE KEY.... IF WE ALLOW IT. WE HAVE FREE WILL SO WE CAN CHOOSE TO ALLOW THINGS TO REFINE US AND BUILD US OR WE CAN CHOOSE TO ALLOW IT TO MAKE US BITTER ANGRY MISERABLE HUMAN BEINGS. THE CHOICE IS ALL OURS
-
Permalink Reply by JB on
-
How would you interpret these scriptures?
Mark 11:24 (KJV)
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.John 5:14 (KJV) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
So from your point of view, the only way we can know the will of God, is to throw up a prayer, and if He answers it, at least we knew He heard us, but we are not sure it will be what we asked for? Maybe He will give us something we didn’t ask for? But the bible says something a little differently in; Luke 11:9-13
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?Though He is speaking of the Holy Spirit here, the principle remains the same.
But will a truly born again child of God, be asking for things that are not in His will? Our faith can never appropriate anything that God hasn’t already provided for. And how can a person pray a prayer of faith, if we don’t know His will concerning it? That creates a wavering faith when we don’t know it. Ja.1, tells us, with a wavering faith, let not that man think he shall receive anything of the Lord. But if it is a promise of God, we can be sure it will be His will for us to have it. We do know one thing; if it pertains unto life and godliness it has already been given, but appropriated only by faith. We suffer lack many times because we don’t know He has already made provision for it. We even enter into His grace by faith. Ro.5:2.
2Corinthians 1:20 (KJV)
For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.Galatians 3:16 (KJV)
Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:29, And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.Blessings
JB
-
Permalink Reply by 2968mctuuxavp on
-
People overlook the according to his will part. God gives good gifts. Don't matter how we believe we receive if it ain't God's will we won't get it.
-
-
Is not the Word of God His will? After all it is God speaking to His children.
JB
-
-
Yep his whole word. He says we sometimes don't get because we ask with wrong motives. Sometimes we want worldly things that goes against his nature to give.
-
Permalink Reply by Mary O on
-
And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. (Romans 8:26 NLT)
I thought the NLT was a lovely translation for this verse. IMO, God recognizes that we don't always know what's best to pray for. There's things He can see that we can't. But, I think He's got it covered anyway, and I think it's good that we pray. :-) Have you ever had God tell you that you are praying for the wrong thing? He can be very gracious about it. I've experienced God correcting what I was praying for and helping me switch it around to what it should be.
Love and God bless,
Mary
-
-
The KJV wording of this verse is a little different than the one you are using, and the syntax does make a difference in the way it is interpreted, or understood. Ro.8:26, KJV Qt. “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 groaning’s which cannot be uttered. “Articulated” And he that searches the hearts knoweth the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
So if you speak, or pray in tongues, or in the Spirit, you will understand what I mean when I say; when I pray in the Spirit about a situation, I am asking God in the Spirit, what I should pray for, so I can make the necessary intercession for this saint according to His will. This is how we get the will of God when it isn’t spelled out, or revealed in scripture.
For instance when Peter went to Joppa to pray for Tabitha in Acts 9:40, why do you suppose he knelt down to pray before he turned to Tabitha to raise her up? A little conjecture on my part, would be to get the will of God, probably by praying in the Spirit, because he didn’t know what he should pray for as he ought. Did you notice in all places when Jesus healed someone, He didn’t have to pray first? Because He knew the will of the Father at all times.
Pro.20:27 “says that the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.”
1Cor.2. We have the mind of Christ.
Blessings,
JB
-
-
YES, I DO, I PRAY AND SPEAK IN TONGUES. I REMEMBER A TIME WHEN THE LORD MOVED ON ME TO PRAY IN THE SPIRIT FOR MY YOUNGEST DAUGHTER, I DIDNT STOP UNTIL I HAD PEACE. I GOT A CALL THAT AFTERNOON, SHE WAS BACKING OUT OF A DRIVE WAY AND GOT BROADSIDED, SHE WAS COMPLETELY COVERED, NOT 1 SCRATCH, BRUISE, NOT 1 THING. GOD DOES WORK IN WAYS WE MAY NOT UNDERSTAND AT THAT TIME, WE ARE TO BE OBEDIENT. WHEN WE PRAY IN THE SPIRIT, ITS SO POWERFUL. ITS JESUS INTERCEDDING OUR DEEPEST NEEDS. ITS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON AGAINST THE ENEMY. HE DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THAT GODGIVEN LANGUAGE. MY DAUGHTER LIVES IN FLA. AND I FOUND OUT THAT AS I PRAYED THE ACCIDENT OCCURED. GOD'S AMAZING!! TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!! AMEN!!!
-
-
Hi JB, God bless you!
I speak in tongues too. Sometimes the KJV gets hard to understand for me anyway. I will dig into other versions to find a translation that's more clear to me. I felt the other translation was a little more clear to me, but maybe it's not to others. Sorry about that. I have heard what you're talking about and the intercession for saints. But I have also prayed for something and God said that I was praying for the wrong thing. Maybe that's an immediate result because I was praying in tongues.
Love,
Mary
-
-
WE ARE HUMANS, WE HAVENT BEEN PERFECTED YET. SOMETIMES WE THINK WE NEED SOMETHING AND ITS NOT THE BEST THING FOR US. WE CAN BECOME IMPATIENT AND GET AHEAD OF GOD AND MAKE A MESS OUT OF OUR LIVES. WE DONT GET SAVED AND THEM BOOM IT ALL FALLS IN PLACE, IT TAKE TIME TO GROW IN OUR SPIRITUAL WALK. IMO, GOD DOESNT FORCE HIMSELF ON US IN ANYWAY. IF WE DONT LISTEN, WE SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES. WE HAVE TO LOOK BACK TO WHERE WE WERE AT THAT POINT IN OUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH. GOD ANSWERS PRAYER ACCORDING TO HIS WILL AND PURPOSE. HE ALLOWS THINGS IN OUR LIVES SO THAT WE GROW AND BECOME STRONGER. IF HE GAVE US EVERYTHING WE ASKED FOR WE WOULDNT HAVE NEED OF HIM AND WOULD BE A BUNCH OF SPOILED BRATS. I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU ARE SAYING, BUT WE HAVE TO LOOK AT WHERE THAT PERSON IS IN THEIR WALK. WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD , YOU THOUGHT AND ACTED LIKE A CHILD, GROWTH TAKES TIME IT ALL TAKES TIME AND PERSERVERENCE. GOD BLESS YOU
-
-
HE WILL GET YOUR ATTENTION. HE MOVES IN STRANGE WAYS, BUT YOU CAN REST ASSURED HE WILL CONFIRM IT IN SEVERAL WAYS AND USE OTHERS THAT KNOW TOTALLY NOTHING ABOUT IT, HE JUST PUTS IT ON THERE HEART. SO MANY TIMES I'M LIKE WOW!!!!! THIS IS IT!! THANK YOU JESUS. ISNT HE JUST AMAZING AND AWSOME!!!! GOD BLESS YOU!
Welcome to
All About GOD
The Good News
Meet Face-to-Face & Collaborate
© 2024 Created by AllAboutGOD.com.
Powered by
