Two-minute read.
“How do I know what God’s will is?” A question I hear often. We can pray confidently if we know we ask in the Lord’s will, but how do we know? In the Bible, we find 80% of the Father’s will for our lives. We can pray confidently when we align with His commands. The other 20% we must decipher through prayer, talking with other believers, and circumstances.
Parresia, the Greek word for confidence, means boldness, freedom of speech, open access.[1] John’s telling us we can approach God freely with our requests when our hearts align with His. Praying for lost souls, I do so with confidence because scripture tells me the Lord wants no one to perish. Which means, when I ask the Creator to soften people’s hearts and give them eyes to see and ears to hear His truth, He wants the same thing. God wants people to hear the message of the gospel and receive it; the Lord wants to crowd heaven with His children. In other words, God wants to give us what we ask for in those moments more than we even want it.
However, if we pray asking God for a new car, we don’t know if that aligns with His will for us. But we can discern whether He has given us the provision to buy it. We can talk to other believers and seek their counsel, and we can ask the Lord directly. “If it be your will, let it be done.” As we wait, God will reveal the answer to the prayer, one way or another.
Praying confidently in the Lord’s will, we must know His commands. When Jesus summarized them for the disciples, He condensed God’s law into four words: love God and love others. Living out the Great Commandment takes partnership with the Savior. To love well, we must follow Jesus’s example and ask for His help. When we pray that way, we can do so boldly and without fear, because we know that’s what the Lord wants for us.
Develop confidence by praying scripture. Learn the Lord’s commandments and ask God to help you obey them. Remember that everyone we meet has an eternal destiny to choose. By loving our heavenly Father and sharing His affection with others, we help them know Jesus. And when they choose the Savior, they secure an eternal destiny with Him, one filled with the glory of the Lord, something so magnificent we can’t even begin to imagine it.
Journal Questions:
How does confidence in God’s will change my prayer life?
What do you need God’s help discerning right now?
When have you prayed boldly to the Lord?
Application:
Pray using the phrase, “If this aligns with Your will…”
[1] Danker, Frederick W., ed.A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
