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NASB | Psalm 115:3 But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Psalm 115:3 But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. |
Bible Question: I believe God answers prayers but by his will and not our wiil. I have faith that the Lord will grant me my needs not exactly all my desires. I have been lectured to and shown in the Bible where Jesus said that if we believe...we would receive. But I have always been taught....if it is the Lords will. Can you give me scripture to anwer this question. thanks |
Bible Answer: I have wrestled with this question myself on more than one occasion, as I am also familiar with how Jesus' words have been interpreted. And I'm not entirely convinced that we've interpreted them correctly. WHAT IS GOD'S WILL FOR US? If I understand the intent of both Scripture and the Gospel message correctly, then I believe God's will is that we "put to death" our character in order to reflect His character instead. As I understand, that is the whole purpose of the Gospel - to transform us into the likeness of His Son - that is, to change us so we may reflect the character of God. I think John the Baptist understood God's will for his life, because he said, "I must decrease, so that Jesus may increase." Some take what he said to mean politically, in that he was to "give way" to Jesus as the primary religious leader... but I think John was talking about his own character. I'm convinced that John knew he needed to become less like himself and more like Christ. I believe Paul also understood this fact, because he said "the Law was our Teacher to bring us to Christ." What was the Law to teach us? The Law was designed to teach us God's character, until the perfect expression of it could come in flesh - which was His Son, Jesus. Now we can look to Christ and learn from Him, as well as have the Law as our backup. FOR WHAT, THEN, DO WE PRAY? You mentioned that we should pray according to God's will. But the question is, What is God's will? Simply put, I believe God's will for each of us is to reflect His character in the world. That is the only way we become the light of the world, is by reflecting His same character. So, if we pray like He prayed, with the same character He had, I guarantee, it will NOT be for ourselves that we pray... and we certainly WON'T ask for material things - not for ourselves or others. Paul gave a beautiful example of this in Colossians 1:9 when he wrote that "we have not stopped praying for you." And what were they praying for? "We ask God to give you complete KNOWLEDGE of His will, and to give you spiritual WISDOM and UNDERSTANDING." Even for others, Paul didn't pray for material things. He prayed that they might know God's will (which is to reflect Christ's character in the world), and that they might have spiritual wisdom and understanding. James talked about prayer for personal gain in the fourth chapter of his letter, verses 2 through 3. He wrote, "you do not have because you do not ask; but when you do ask, you don't receive what you ask for because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." And James should know what he's talking about, because he was guilty of the same thing. I'm sure he was remembering back on an event that was recorded in Mark 10:35-38. James and his brother, John, went to Jesus and said, "Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask." Jesus asked them, "What do you want Me to do for you?" and they responded, "Grant us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and one on Your left hand, in Your glory." I'm sure Jesus smiled at their misunderstanding (for they had taken His advice about asking anything in His name literally), and He told them frankly, "You don't know what you're asking." They asked amiss. Because that's not what our Father wants us to ask Him for. Jesus gave us this example in the eleventh chapter of Luke: He said, "I tell you, keep on asking and you will receive what you ask for. Because everyone who asks, receives. You fathers - if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Of course not! If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give THE HOLY SPIRIT to those who ask Him!" If I understand the purpose of the Gospel, then it seems to me the only thing we should pray for ourselves is that we be filled more and more with the holy Spirit, so that we may reflect more and more the character of Christ in the world. I hope that helps. God-speed. |