“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” John 15:7
Have you ever been a position of not knowing what to ask God for? You want or need some guidance from the Holy Spirit but you’re not even sure whether what you’re asking for is God’s will?
I’ve been in this situation on too many occasions but I found that this can be the most confusing time of anyones life and, it also causes what I call double minded prayers.
The first thing to remember is that the Bible tells us to “let the peace of God rule in your hearts,” Colossians 3:15. Peace is something you seriously cannot purchase, no matter how much money you have. You can purchase the thing that will bring peace such as pay for the new roof to prevent damage to the interior of your home, but when it comes to making a decision on which direction to take or, what to do, no amount of money can guarantee you’ve made the right decision until you see the result of your decision.
However, by abiding in the Word, you will know what to ask for because the Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth and the path that leads to truth is not only a path where wisdom abounds, but, it’s a peaceful one – Proverbs 3:17.
You Can’t Force God’s Hand
When it comes to answers to prayer, you can’t force God’s hand.
If we are asking “what we will,” and we’re abiding in His Word, then we can assume that what we ask for must be in accordance with the Father’s will for our lives too. Jesus himself said “I do always those things that please him (the Father),” John 8:2. Worthless though our attempts would be, this actually means that there is no need to try and force God’s hand.
I have personally seen so many criticisms against the “faith movement,” that I’m beginning to challenge the lives of their critics. I’m certainly not into the “name it, claim it, blab it and grab it group,” but faith isn’t a movement, it’s a way of living. God said that “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6 (emphasis mine).
Before you even get to the place of faith, you have to believe that God is.
What does this mean? I could blind you with words like omnipotent and omniscient but basically, God is ALL knowing and ALL seeing and ALL Mighty. It means that nothing is too difficult for Him to do and in fact, everything that God is ever going to do for you has already been accomplished.
I hear people saying “but I prayed so hard, I cried, I stormed the heavens and I got nothing and so I don’t believe in this faith thing.” Well, I want to help you out here and suggest you stop. Stop the crying, storming and trying to move God’s hands with your prayers … He just won’t be manipulated.
My little girl said it best when she said “mummy, if you’re believing God for this, then why are you crying.”
You know why I was crying? Because I didn’t believe! Oh yes, I believed the Word of God, I believed God answered prayer but I was in fear and didn’t really believe that what I’d ask for, God could do it for me!
Believing the Word and acting on the Word, are two different things.
You see, if I had believed, I would have spoken with confidence (acting) – a confidence that can only come from God. I wouldn’t be crying and storming and pleading with God because I would have had that knowing that whatsoever things I desire when I prayed, believing that I receive them, I would have them.
How could I be so sure I would receive them and what’s the difference between what I’m saying here and the proponents of the “faith movement?”
It comes down to one word, apart from faith … “Abiding.”
Abiding means to “live in.”
Therefore, if I’m “living in” the Word and the Word is living in me, I will build faith since faith comes by hearing and, hearing by the Word of God. Romans 10:17.
When the Word lives in me, I will also have wisdom to know what to do. I will also have peace and I will also know that God is, all of which will eliminate any doubt.
My response to my little girl telling me that if I had faith, I wouldn’t be crying was to spend more time in the Word. Seriously, I put aside all work and fed on the Word until I got the faith to believe. This put an end to the crying, vein popping praying and the storming of heaven and gave me a peace that passed all understanding.
The bonus? The more time I spent meditating the Word, the more I got to know about God as my Father and the fact that He just “is” – self existent, God of Faith, God of Love. My knowing God, eliminated the shadows of doubt as I discovered His heart and the fact that He wanted more for me than I was even willing to ask myself.
So the next time you need an answer to prayer and you realise you’re lacking in faith, do more abiding and in that abiding, you will find love, joy, health and peace. It really is the Father’s will for you to have it all.
Blessings,
About Trish Jones