Asking According To God’s Will

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, 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 the petitions that we have asked of Him. 1 John 5: 14, 15, NKJV

Dear Lord, we ask that our eyes might be opened and we will learn to recognize the answers that are according to Your will.  Amen

This promise brings us such assurance.  I do not know what comes to your mind when you read this promise, but I can tell you that what came to my mind in the past when I read it, is not what comes to my mind now.  Let me explain.  At first the text said to me:  whatever you ask God for, as long as it is good, you will receive it.  As I am writing, the Holy Spirit is expanding that thought:  there are a lot of “good” things that I may never receive in this life.  But the things that are good for me, when I ask according to God’s will, will be granted to me.  His promise is, “No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84: 11).  A spouse can be a good thing, but not everyone who is asking for a spouse will get married.

The promise is that, when we ask according to His will “He hears us.”  God does not ignore His children when they pray to Him, thank God!  And because He hears us, we can expect to receive the things we asked Him for.  I believe that even when, because of our human limitations, we do not pray according to His will, He still hears us; but in His love, He gives us what is best for us.   

One of the attributes of God, that I am learning to appreciate more and more every day, is that of how personal a God He is.  God comes very close to His children when He is dealing with them.  He is a personal God, a God who is mindful of details.  He customizes every blessing as well as every trial!  He will not give you more “goodies” than you can handle without getting puffed up.  And the firey trial will be just hot enough to melt away the dross.  He has promised not to give us “more than we can bear” (1 Corinthians 10: 13), good or bad!

Why have I said all of this?  To say the following:  If we ask “according to His will,” we can be sure that we have what “we have asked of Him.”  I believe we could use the rich young ruler as an example.  When he came to Jesus, he really came asking, for eternal life, which of course, is according to God’s will.  Jesus answered his prayer by revealing to Him what he lacked.  Jesus’ answer was according to God’s will and his need, but he went away sad.  He received what he asked for, but it was not what he wanted. 

For some reason, we believe that God’s will – will always agree with what we have in mind (I am speaking to Mabel); not necessarily so; but you can be sure it will always be the best for us.  Naaman the leper, asked for healing.  That was according to God’s will that we should enjoy good health (3 John: 2).  But he did not expect to be sent to the Jordan river, of all places, to dip seven times in order to be healed from his leprosy; and he was not happy to comply; but in the end, he was sure glad he did!

I believe that it is of utmost importance that we learn to ask according to God’s will.  It is equally important that we learn to recognize the answer that is according to God’s will.  For this, we need wisdom from on high.  “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1: 5).

Let us ask God for wisdom today.  This is according to His will.