All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others

"Your Will Be Done"

By Greg Laurie

"In this manner, therefore, pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.' "—Matthew 6:9-10

If you want God to say yes to your prayers, then you must pray according to the will of God. Jesus modeled this for us when He taught us to pray, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9–10).

Yet some people teach the opposite. They say that when you pray, you are to tell God what you want and ask for it by faith. You are to speak it into existence and not doubt. I've heard one teacher say, "Don't ever pray, 'Not my will, but Yours be done." But those who hold that view are mistaken.

Jesus, God in human form, taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." I've learned that I don't always know what is right. That's why I'm glad my Heavenly Father, who knows all things and has my best interest at heart, will sometimes overrule my prayers for my own good.

Never be afraid to ask God to overrule your prayers if they happen to be outside of His will. Sometimes God may answer our prayers differently than we thought He would. But the objective of prayer is not to get God to do what we want to do. The objective of prayer is saying, "Lord, where are You going? I want to go there too. . . . What do You think about this? I want to think that too. . . . What is Your will on this? I want that to be my will too." We want to get our will in alignment with God's.

When we find God's will and start praying accordingly, we'll start seeing our prayers answered in the affirmative.

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Permalink Reply by Seek on February 13, 2016 at 9:02pm

Those who say to tell God what you want and ask in faith are doing so because of Scripture about the faith of the righteous or the prayer made in faith, ask anything, come boldly to the throne, the persistent widow, etc. I've had problems with it but being around it I've found that if you probe a bit deeper, some will say yes have faith God will do it, don't doubt. You know He can. But IF HE DOESN'T, then it wasn't His will for you. But I have never heard anyone say "Don't ever pray, 'Not my will, but Yours be done." I'd love to know how they came to that conclusion.

Permalink Reply by Seek on February 14, 2016 at 5:14am

He tells us no, sometimes wait, and then there are times yes.

I hadn't thought of that one when I posted but yes that is what is a part of the belief in praying in faith. Another is that as we grow, our will lines up with God's will, and we will pray for those things that God desires.

As I type this I am listening to John 15 and Jesus says if we abide in Him we can ask what we will and it will be done unto us. Some say He was only directing that to the disciples, but other Scripture says that what He says isn't just for them but also those who come after them, and that Scripture is useful not just for them but all who will believe. It's no different than when He says they will be persecuted and face trials. Though spoken to the disciples, they are spoken for all.

My church has always held a further belief that I cannot line up with however. Not all of them believe this but it has been the general church belief. And it is to claim we are already healed. I can believe God desires we be in good health and prosper, as much as He desires we do not sin. And I can believe if we have faith He will heal us, that we can hold onto that knowing that sometimes His answer is no for a reason. If we are well and prosperous, would we call on Him as much? But to say I am not sick when I am is not speaking truth or Scriptural. Even Paul said to those in the faith that if any of them were sick to take them to the elders for prayer. Jesus said there will always be the sick among us. He also gave us guidelines on what not to eat that have been later shown to be unhealthy, such as pork. And if eat this way and are sick, healing may need to come in the form of correcting our eating habits.

Permalink Reply by godly pursuit on February 21, 2016 at 8:34am

I have been, in the past, among groups that promote this belief. They teach that we must ask without doubting ( James 1:6). They also believe that in every case it is God's will to heal. Therefore, to ask God to heal you, and then to pray "if it be Thy will," is to doubt. But this, of course is a corruption of scripture, and I might add very frustrating to the chronically ill, who when they don't get healed in the way these people think they should, are seen as being in a constant state of disbelief. But this teaching is wrong, being a combination of pride and misunderstanding of God's Word. We must submit every prayer to God's will, as even our Lord and Savior did as He sweat drops of blood during His intercession in the Garden.

Permalink Reply by Seek on February 25, 2016 at 10:45am

Amen. Another thing it does to those who are ill and have faith in healing but don't see it, is to leave them questioning God's Word because of people's misapplication of His Word.

I just read a story of a woman who had to give the eulogy for a friend. Her friend was born with defects that would leave a woman at the age of 50 with the mind of an 8 year old. She could've spent her life believing she'd been healed, but instead she spent it with childlike faith loving God's creation. She was happy and made an impression on those who knew her. I guess one question then is what is God's definition of healing? Is it that the physical body subject to death be healthy and whole? I'm sure God's more interested in our inner healing. When he looked at this 50 yo woman, He didn't see a defective brain but a pure heart that came to Him as a little child.

Permalink Reply by Tammy on February 28, 2016 at 6:54pm

Amen to all of the comments. To those who believe that God desires everyone to be healed, preach it to the grave yards.

"Your Will Be Done"

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