J. Oswald Sanders
Discovering the Will of God
The will of God … good … acceptable … perfect (Rom 12:2).
Our seventh lesson centers on John’s confident statement: “And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will. He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him” (1 John 5:14-15).
In this passage, God binds Himself to answer every prayer that comes within the scope of His will. The implications of this statement are breathtaking. Our wonder deepens when we remember that God’s will is always “good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).
But there are negative implications as well. The clause “according to His will” places a very definite limitation on the assurance of an answer. Before we endeavor to learn how to discover God’s will, let us consider the will of God itself.
WHAT IS THE WILL OF GOD?
God’s will is what He sovereignly purposes and plans, and as such it cannot be improved. It is perfect. Paul says that it is also “good and acceptable,” but not every believer finds it easy to agree with him. the problem arises from our innate tendency to characterize what is good mainly in terms of creature comfort. We consider God’s will to be good when it means exemption from trouble and pain, from sorrow and poverty, from bereavement and ill-health; and when it makes provision for a modicum of luxury.
But such a concept finds little support in the New Testament; rather, the reverse is stated. What does Paul consider to be good? The answer is given in Romans 8:28-29: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, and are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (italics added).
This often misinterpreted passage clearly teaches that anything that makes us more like Christ is good. Christ-likeness does not always thrive best in trouble-free conditions. It is more often the adverse conditions we face that most effect the transformation.
So when we “ask anything according to His will,” we are really asking for what is the very best for us. The corollary is that our requests are denied only when they are against our highest interests. And would I not deny my little boy’s request for a sharp-razor blade, however much he cries for it? So this apparent limitation to answered prayer is in effect a gracious act of love.
HOW CAN WE KNOW GOD’S WILL?
We face a dual problem. How can we know with certainty what is, and what is not, the will of God? If I do not know with certainty that my petition is in the will of God, how can I pray in faith? There must be a reasonable and satisfying answer, or God could be charged with unfairness in imposing a condition we are unable to fulfill.
It is the writer’s conviction that the answer to our questions will gradually emerge as we engage in the practice of prayer, rather than while we are studying its theory. Study is, of course, necessary, but it must not be divorced from actual praying.
True prayer is not asking God for what we want, but for what He wants. This is implicit in the petition of the pattern prayer: “Thy will be done in earth” (Matt 6:10, KJV, italics added); and as WIlliam Barclay remarks, it is not “Thy will be changed,” but “Thy will be done.” Prayer is not a convenient method of getting one’s own way or of bending God to one’s desires.
Prayer is the means by which our desires can be redirected and aligned with the will of God. As we expectantly pray for light concerning the will of God on any matter, if our desires are not in line with His will, He will make it clear. If we are willing, He will change and redirect our desires, as Paul assures us: “It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).
We must not imagine that God will indiscriminately grant anything we desire. What would happen in the world if this were the case? What chaos! The farmer prays urgently for rain to save his crops on the same day that the vacationist earnestly prays for sunshine. People in Britain pray in time of war for the success of their armies, while the Germans are praying for victory for their troops. God cannot grant both requests.
How are we to pray in such situations? Only one prayer is appropriate: “Lord, we do not know what to pray for as we ought; may Thy will be done on earth in this matter as it is done in heaven” (see Romans 8:26 and Matt 6:10).
The supreme example of the redirection of the will in prayer is that of our Lord in Gethsemane’s garden. As Son of Man, Jesus was utterly submissive to His Father’s will. Yet in His humanity He shrank from the unutterable sufferings involved in His work as Mediator. In His distress He prayed, “Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done” (Luke 22:42). Had He been certain that it was the will of His Father to accept that cup, His prayer would have been pointless. But He was not certain, and prayed to discover His Father’s will, and the answer came.
In this petition we come face to face with the mystery of Christ’s two natures. Note the “My will” and “Thy will.” As Man, He longed to be spared the agony ahead; but as He prayed, the mists surrounding His Father’s will were dissolved, and the issues became clear. He embraced His Father’s will, His human will became merged with it, and He delighted in it.
His second prayer had no, “My will” and “Thy will” in it. In Matthew 26:42 it is simply, “Thy will be done.” Then He “prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more” (Matt 26:44). And what was the outcome of the three sessions of prayer? Did He induce the Father to change His mind and remove the cup? No, indeed. But in prayer the will of God became clear, and Jesus was led to accept it with exultation. Listen to the oy and the inflexible purpose of His redirected will as He speaks to Peter: “The cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” (John 18:11).
Amy Wilson Carmichael, founder of the Dohnavur Fellowship in India, said that early in their work they decided that before asking for anything, they should find out whether it was the mind of the Lord, although that kind of praying took time. The more they searched the Scriptures, the more they were encouraged to ask to be filled with the knowledge of His will before offering petitions for a desired benefit.
The experience of Christ in Gethsemane teaches us that prayer is not necessarily unanswered when it is not answered exactly as we would wish. It is clearly stated that the Lord’s prayers were answered: “In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety” (Heb 5:7).
The answer was not what His human nature craved, but through prayers and tears He was brought to the place where He preferred and chose His Father’ swill, and proved it to be “good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2). In our experience, as in His, sometimes it is only through tears and heartbreak that we reach the place where we can say with all our hearts, “Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight” (Matt 11:26, KJV).
In His high-priestly prayer, however, the emphasis is different. Then He knew with full assurance that His petition was in keeping with His Father’s will. He did not say, “Father, if Thou art willing” (Luke 22:42). Instead, He boldly prayed, “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am” (John 17:24, KJV, italics added). In matters in which the will of God is clear, we can ask with complete confidence of a full answer.
How then are we to discern the will of God in specific matters so that we can offer the prayer of faith?
- Let us recognize that all matters of moral and spiritual principle are clearly dealt with in the Scriptures. In studying them, we can find in general God’s will on matters of moment in our daily lives. For example, God speaks clearly on matters of morals, the marriage relationship, relationship with others, ethical behavior, social responsibility, and so on. It is our responsibility to search out what is revealed. Where the Scriptures speak clearly, we need seek no further guidance. So the first question to ask is, Is what I am asking something that is sanctioned by the Word of God?
- In applying general principles to specific cases for which there is no clear biblical guidance, we are to look to the Holy Spirit to teach us. It is axiomatic that He will never guide us to ask something that is contrary to the Scriptures He has inspired. But as we pray, sincerely seeking and choosing God’s will, He will restrain us from offering petitions that are not acceptable. Or, on the other hand, He will impart a deepening assurance of what is God’s will in the matter. This inner assurance then becomes the basis for the prayer of faith.
- If we are sure our prayers are moving in the direction of God’s will, we can expect Him to add confirmation by giving indications of the divine providence in the circumstances.
A helpful example of this principle is given in the experience of Paul and his companions on the fateful missionary journey that brought them to Macedonia (Acts 16:6-10). After being twice restrained by the Holy Spirit from proceeding in a direction that was not in His plan for them, they spent some time at Troas, where they waited on God to discover His will. Since Mysia and Bithynia had proved to be out of God’s will, what were they to do?
God answered their earnest and submissive prayers by granting them a vision which was confirmed by the Holy Spirit. Luke records their reaction: “Immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding [assuredly gathering, KJV] that God had called us to preach the gospel to them” (v 10). As the missionaries moved forward in this confidence, circumstances confirmed that in their prayer they had correctly discerned the will of God. - Another way God indicates His will is in laying on our hearts a special burden for someone or some situation, from which we can find relief only in prayers. He thus takes us into fellowship with himself in the ministry of intercession.
Thomas Goodwin, the Puritan, wrote in this connection: “The Holy Spirit who is the Intercessor within us and who searches the deep things of God, doth offer, prompt and suggest to us in our prayers those very things that are in God’s heart, to grant the thing we desire of Him, so as it often comes to pass that a poor creature is carried on to speak God’s very heart to Himself, and then God cannot, nor doth not deny.”1
PRAYER
Set before our minds and hearts, O heavenly Father, the example of our Lord JesusChrist, who when He was upon earth, found His refinement in doing the will of Him who sent Him, and in finishing His work. Give us grace to remember Him who knew neither impatience of spirit nor confusion of work, but in the midst of all His labors held communion with Thee, and even upon earth was still in heaven; where now He reigneth with Thee and the Holy Spirit, world without end.
- DEAN C.J. VAUGHAN
QUESTION
- Could God retain His sovereignty if He dispensed with this condition of answered prayer?
- Does praying in submission to the will of God hinder us from praying the prayer of faith?
Notes
1D. M. M’Intyre, In His Likeness (London Marshall, Morgan & Scott, n.d.), p 28
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