“Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:17)
“Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is”. (AMP)
“Don't live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants”.(MBCL)
“... And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us, and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him” (1 John 5:14-15)
“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for” (NLT)
If anyone wants to know the will of God, he must ask Him. Your words should always be “What wilt thou have me to do” (Acts 9:6), “Teach me to do thy will” (Psalm 143:10) and “May He give us the desire of His will in everything”(1 kings 8:58- TLB) When you are serious about pleasing the Lord and move according to His will, you should first of all evaluate those things He wants you to do.
‘The will of God are those things which the Lord desires’.
Having the life of prayer is one of the basic ways to know God’s will for your life. A times, they are made known through meditation and prayer. The consistent prayer life is mandatory for anyone who wants to understand the will of God. The word of God warns that you should make sure to understand what the master wants. It is very important as you ask those things which are necessary for your godliness. The power of prayer demands consistency. The Word of God recorded that David, the man after God’s own heart and Daniel, the governor in the land of captivity prayed three times daily. Jesus, our Saviour always do pray at the mountain for many hours during His earthly ministry(Mark 1:35).
What a challenge!
Many servants of God who have joined the church triumphant such as Martin Luther, George Muller, Jonathan Edward, the man who wrote “Sinners in the hands of an angry God” spent almost all their days and hours on their knees, talking to God over their needs and their ministry. They achieved greatly.
Paul, the apostle admonished the believers to pray without ceasing in 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
The Living Bible put it this way “always keep on praying”.
The knowledge of God’s will is very essential in the life of a child of God. A person can be outside His will, or walking in His permissive will or God’s perfect will. You should understand the will of God for your life. It pleases Him so much. God’s will can be understood through these ways;
a.STUDYING THE WORD OF GOD
“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left”.(Isaiah 30:21)
“And if you leave God's paths and go astray, you will hear a voice behind you say, "No, this is the way; walk here." (TLB)
“And at your back, when you are turning to the right hand or to the left, a voice will be sounding in your ears, saying, This is the way in which you are to go”.(BBE)
b.MEDITATION
“And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming”
( Genesis 24:63)
“Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment”.(Isaiah 41:1)
c.LISTENING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT
“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in
you”. (John 14:16-17)
d.PRAYER
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:And if we know that he
hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him”. ( 1 John 5:14-15)
“And we have an assured confidence that whenever we ask anything in accordance with His will, He listens to us.And since we know that He listens to us, then whatever we ask, we know that we have the things which we have asked from Him”. (WEYMOUTH)
e.COUNSEL
“Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety”.( Prov 11:14)
f.OPENNESS TO GOD’S LEADING
“If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself”. ( John 7:17)
“If any man is ready to do God's pleasure he will have knowledge of the teaching and of where it comes from--from God or from myself”.
(BBE)
g.PROVIDENTIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
“And they went up into the city: and when they were come into the city, behold, Samuel came out against them, for to go up to the high place. Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying, To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me. And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said unto him, Behold the man whom I spake to thee of! this same shall reign over my people” ( 1 Sam 9:14-17)
h.CAREFUL EVALUATION
“But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.”( 1 Corinthians 2:15)
i.PEACE OF GOD
“ I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly”.
(Psalm 85:8)
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful”. (Colossians 3:15)
j.REVEALED WILL OF GOD
“He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.( Proverb 28:9)
“He who turns away his ear from hearing the law [of God and man], even his prayer is an abomination, hateful and revolting [to God]
(AMP)
Having understood how to know the will of God, what about praying according to His will? Praying according to the will of God gives you the confidence that He hears you. God’s will is revealed strongly in His infallible word. Again, the Holy Spirit, who is your teacher and partner prays through you according to the will of God.(Romans 8:26;32). God’s will are His desires,likings and promises for you. Living God’s will is the greatest thing that can happen to you. His will can be personal, progressive but also dynamic. You should remember that God doesn’t will your misfortune.
However, a prayer that is channelled according to Divine will and conditions cannot be ignored. Look at the life and ways of the people that received answers through prayer and changed their destiny for good especially from the Scripture. It is the will of God to heal you, to save you and to protect you. You should know His will at all times for your life. You should not say, ‘Lord, if it is your will, you can heal me in this sickness’ It is His will. Get it!
Because you are a child of God, He values you. He has spoken many things concerning you. He said that you are a unique specie, created in His image and likeness. You are peculiar and more costlier than the sparrow. You are an overcomer and also a victor. He wishes to supply all your needs according to His riches in glory through Christ Jesus. Through Him, you can do all things. Again,He watches over you and also declared that anyone who touches you,does so to the apple of His eyes. As a child of covenant, He is able to confront all Pharaoh’s for your sake.
What a wonderful love!
When you look at certain issues, you can bear witness that many prayers offered by some people are outside the will of God. Because of this, their prayers are not answered. When you relegate the points listed above in understanding the will of God especially the knowledge of the word of God, you will have misplaced priorities which may delay your miracle. You may not know His will for your life, business, academics, career,choosing life partner, crucial matters and time of suffering and difficulty. His will and promises are for your healing, deliverance,prosperity,security, protection and spiritual growth.
Joshua’s prayer in Joshua 7:7-8 was how to deliver his people but Achan’s sin was a hindrance. The Lord decided not to save and never answered Joshua because of the accursed thing. David in 2 Samuel 12:16-18 prayed that the illegitimate child should live but it wasn't the will of God. He allowed the death of the young boy. Jesus Christ refused the request of the mother of James and John in Matthew 20:21, to sit both at His right and left hand in His father’s kingdom. The Master did not answer the request of Peter to build three tabernacles at the Mount of transfiguration in Matthew 17:4. All these requests were not according to the will of God and so were not answered.
The period we are in now is not for selfish prayers. The prayer that is offered according to the will of God gives glory to Him always. However, there will be a time people’s prayer will be rejected totally like the prayers of the rich man in hell in the book of Luke 16:19-31. Now is made of time for tomorrow never comes. Some people may wish to pray at the judgement morning but it will be too late. Some people may wish to have another opportunity when their life is over but it shall be too late. Jesus tells the story himself;
“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And
these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal”. (Matt 25:40-46)
Finally, The Lord is nearer you now and wants you to call upon Him in obedience and holiness for the needs of your family members, neighbors, business,communities,nation and church. He promised that He would be found. The Word of God says;
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13)
