![]() Praying “according to the will of God” in 1 John 5:14-15, I believe, is praying according to God’s intended action, which could be either his moral will (category #2) or his permissive will (category #3). But either or both categories #2 or #3 could play a part in what it means to pray according to God’s will. Obviously, category #1, God’s sovereign will (by which he determines everything that takes place), is not relevant to the discussion of 1 John 5:14-15 since we are not privy to the secret counsel of God. God, of course, is using it all to further his ultimate purposes. God has communicated his standard for right and wrong based upon his own holy and righteous character (example: Exodus 20:1-17).īecause sin entered the world through Adam and Eve, God currently allows certain things to take place in this world that he would not allow in a sinless world (example: Acts 14:16). God chooses and orders all that has and ever will take place (examples: Ephesians 1:11 Acts 4:28). Here are three ways the Bible speaks about the will of God: Yes, theology has many practical applications. But we need first to answer the question: What is meant by “His will” in these verses, and indeed in other places where the concept of God’s will shows up in the Bible? If we can grow in our understanding of the various ways that the Bible speaks about the will of God, it may help us figure out how to resolve this legitimate and practical question in our prayer life. So why can’t we simply ask-and expect to receive positive answers-when we pray about something that is God’s will? Pray according to the will of God and your prayers will be answered. This seems like such a wide-open promise. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15 says, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. She, of course, was referring to 1 John 5:14-15 in her comment about praying according to the will of God. But I’ve sometimes prayed that God would preserve a struggling marriage that still ended up in divorce.” ![]() For example, I know that God doesn’t want Christians to get divorced. ![]() Since I know that some things are clearly according to God’s will, why can’t I just pray directly about those things and know for certain that they’re going to happen? But that’s not the way it works with my prayers. A spiritually-minded friend of my wife and me recently made this comment: “I struggle with the idea of praying according to the will of God.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |