THE QUESTION OF GOD'S WILL

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: 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 what we asked of him.  (1 John 5:14-15)
Sooner or later, as you begin to stand your ground for an answer to prayer, some sincere, well-meaning soul is bound to approach you and discourage your faith, saying, "Perhaps it is not God's will to grant you this miracle."  OR  "If God had meant you to have this prayer answered, you would have had it by now."  OR  "You are being presumptuous (or selfish) in asking God for a miracle (of healing or financial provision or other)," etc., etc..

Of course, it is true that we should never pray against God's will.  However, here are a few guidelines to help us hold this concern in balance.

1.)  First and most importantly, God's will is revealed in the Bible. Search the Scriptures to see if God approves or disapproves of the thing you are desiring. Ask yourself, "Is the miracle I am pursuing in line with Scripture?"  For instance, we know that it is ALWAYS God's will to save someone's soul, so those kinds of prayers are always in God's will.  (See Eze.18:23+32 and 2 Peter 3:9, for example.)  And, of course, we know that it would never be God's will for us to pray for something that disobeys Scripture.

[VERY IMPORTANT:  Also submit your desire against the checklist found at Special Conditions For A Miracle.] 

But, of course, not everything we pray about is specifically mentioned in Scripture. In these cases, also ask yourself, "If my prayer is answered, will it bring God glory?"  Sometimes we can pray selfishly, it's true (James 4:3).  However, it might surprise you to learn that miracles and answered prayer give God glory.  In John 15:7-8, Jesus says, "If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you.  This is to My Father's glory that you bear much fruit (i.e. answered prayer), showing yourselves to be my disciples."

2.)  Secondly, if we are earnestly seeking to please Him and be in His will, God directs us through our desires.  Very likely, your desire has come from Him in the first place!  Philippians 2:13 says, "...for it is God who works in you to will (desire) and to act according to His good purpose."
Ps. 37:4
Mk.11:24
Ps. 84:11b

3.)  However, if you are unsure, you can always plow ahead, praying for your desire until God says "yes" or "no".  Keep asking until He speaks to you.  Do not act but, rather, only wait upon God in prayer until He speaks.  Again, if you are walking in obedience to the known will of God (as revealed in the Bible), are spending quality time in prayer with Him daily, and are sincerely wanting to please God, you will not go very far down the road before God WILL speak to you about the matter — either "yea" or "nay"!  He will also be faithful to send various encouragements or discouragements confirming what you believe He told you (i.e. such as Bible verses, counsel from your pastor or other spiritual teachers, an edifying devotional you run across, etc.).  The Holy Spirit living inside you will respond to these confirmations either with His peace and an inner "knowing", or a lack thereof.

Of course, like Paul the Apostle in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, you must be willing to accept "no" from God as an answer. But, although Paul's earnest and thrice repeated prayer was denied, yet God didn't leave him in any uncertainty. He plainly spoke to Paul and told him precisely why his request was not granted. Follow Paul's example! Continue asking and expecting. Don't stop asking unless God very plainly explains to you why your request will not be granted.

4.)  Also, if your desire is in accordance with God's Word and GROWS over an extended amount of time (i.e. perhaps even years), almost certainly it is from God.  If it WANES and dies out and you lose interest in your dream after an extended amount of time, most likely it was not.

5.)  If your petition is of God (and you are daily feeding yourself a diet rich in the Word of God), your faith also will GROW over time despite repeated setbacks and adverse circumstances.  Like Abraham (Romans 4:18), "against all hope" in the normal, natural order of things, you will put your hope in the supernatural power of God.  If your petition is not blessed by God and is without His anointing and empowering, your faith will fizzle out and quit over time.  But if, in the face of overwhelming odds, God's mighty power sustains your faith and hope over the long haul, consider Him the author of your desire.  You will have tenacity, drive and motivation to press forward and persevere through many testings, discouragements and demonic hindrances.  This is another indication that you are praying in the will of God.

6.)  Regarding being in God's will -- yes, you definitely must be willing to give up your desire if God asks you to. Like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:42), you must be willing to say, "Not my will, but THINE be done." No dream or any other thing can ever be more important to you than God.  Even if God seems to be shining with favor on your request, strive to carefully keep a balance between boldly claiming God's promises while yet being willing to lay your dearest petition on the sacrificial altar (reminiscent of Abraham in Genesis 22:9) should He require it.  This balance is not easy to maintain!  It is difficult but necessary to hold on and let go at the same time; to lift both hands to God -- with one closed and the other opened.  Sometimes, even after you have pursued your dearest dream in laboring prayer for many years, God may allow hope of its fulfillment to die completely -- but then may unexpectedly resurrect it and bring it to glorious fulfillment.  As He did with Abraham, God is after your heart, and may test you to see who has it — your dream or Himself.

7.)  Regarding physical healing — sometimes someone will insist that God Himself sent their sickness and wants them to bear it, so it would be wrong to pray for a miraculous healing.  This kind of praying would be against His will, they conclude.  Well, if you are such a person that has been led to think this way, have you ever stopped to consider that neither should you be spending time, money or effort trying to get well?  If God has sent your sickness and wants you to bear it, then —  to be consistent -- shouldn't you just stay sick? Aren't you fighting God by taking medicine against His will....?

However, don't be alarmed. This line of thinking is not at all Scriptural! God does not want you sick. [See Healing Scripture Promises and Healing, Part II]

[Of course, if you do not have faith for healing, PLEASE see a doctor! Regardless of your point of view, we do not want you sick or suffering.]

8.)  Also regarding physical healing, some Christians may feel that miraculous healings are not for today.  Indeed, in their case supernatural healing is in fact not for them because in Matt.9:29 Jesus says, "According to your faith will it be done to you."  James 4:2 KJV says, "...ye have not because ye ask not."  Thus, these Christians will receive only what they believe in, believe for and ask for.  If someone believes God for much, they will receive much.  If someone believes God for little, they will receive little.  In John 16:24 Jesus says, "Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."

Like the apostles in Luke 17:5, let us say to the Lord, "Increase our faith!".  (Also, in Mark 9:22-24 a man with a demon possessed son cried, "...help me overcome my unbelief!" when Jesus challenged him with "everything is possible for him who believes.")


For God's promises to come to pass in our lives, we also must fight for them!  "Fight who?" you may ask.  It is not God's unwillingness to answer our prayers that we fight, but rather we must fight:

1)  the devil, the enemy of our souls, and
2)  our own unbelief [our minds must be "renewed" (Romans 12:2) to "walk by faith and not by sight" (2 Cor.5:7)], and our carnal tendency toward discouragement and "weariness in well-doing" (Gal.6:9).

At first we may struggle to believe that God really does WANT to heal our affliction completely.  It's hard to have faith for healing (and other miracles) unless that question is firmly settled in our own mind.  Then, when we're certain that it is His desire, we can proceed with confidence (see 1 John 5:14-15).  Our unbelief is really not about God's ability to heal us.  We know He can.  It's God's willingness to heal us that the devil tries to keep us uncertain about.  The leper knew that Jesus could heal him.  But would He?  Was He WILLING?  "Lord, if thou wilt, ....thou canst make me clean." (Mat. 8:2 KVJ).  If the devil can keep us from applying Jesus' words in verse 3 to ourselves, he can keep us living with our affliction instead of receiving our healing.  Satan has always tried to make God seem like a grudging, stingy meanie who's holding out on us (Gen.3:4-5).  Yet, if you approached Jesus with the same uncertainty the leper had, ("IF thou wilt... "), why would Jesus give you any different answer than He gave to the leper?  He forever threw out the "IF" when He said, "I WILL!!!  Be thou clean!"  (Read also about God's willingness and generosity in Isa.30:18 NIV.)

Jesus loves importunity and persistence in prayer (Lk.11:8).  He's thrilled with our determination that we're going to receive what we're asking for.  He encourages our perseverance (Lk.18:1-7) and insistence.  Like Jacob in Genesis 32:26 who said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me," may we also not let go of God in prayer until we've received what we ask for!  Determine not to be denied in regards to your godly petition.

Romans 12:2 says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — His good, pleasing and perfect will."

Building up your faith to believe for miracles can be hard work.  "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."  This verse in Romans 10:17 (KJV)  implies not just hearing the Word once, but over and over and over and over!  Constant immersion in the Scriptures will renew your mind to think like God thinks, and will build up your "faith muscle" to believe for miracles.  Over time, your faith muscle will be stronger -- especially after having seen God do miracles for you before.

So, after you have sincerely surrendered your dream to God and not heard Him say "no", don't give up praying too soon and blame it on "God's will". Though not always the case, this excuse can be the easy way out, said by people who, through ignorance or laziness, simply do not put in the hard work of prayer, Scripture saturation, fasting, patience, etc., needed to see a miracle come to pass.  Such neglect is unbelief -- not piety!  We must, like God, "call those things that be not as though they were" (Romans 4:17b), and persevere until our circumstances line up with God's promises.  For God is indeed willing, as we see in Mt.7:7-12: