According to His Will

“And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.”—1 John 5:14

The will of God. As believers grow, they aspire to know God’s will. Much of the will of God has already been revealed in His Word. We know that God desires that we “be holy” (1 Peter 1:15), “rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18), and “abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thessalonians 4:3). God tells us what we should be doing and what behaviors, sins and habits we are to avoid. Since God has clearly spoken to us about these things, there should be no confusion as to what the believer’s response should be when confronted by them. In these instances, we don’t necessarily need to ask God what to do, because He has already told us. But what about those things the Bible does not talk about? And how do we find out His will?

The apostle Paul revealed one way of discovering God’s will. Paul instructed us:   

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”—Romans 12:1-2. 

When we consistently seek to discern God’s will for our lives, we strive to make sure that we are not operating according to any of the fallen world’s philosophies or values. We renew our mind, which means that we are filling our minds with the things of God, i.e., the Bible, prayer and other holy things. When we set our minds on the things of the Spirit of God, that helps break the influence the world’s philosophies may have on us. And as we do, we are better able to discern the will of God in any given situation. And once we do, we are able to make requests according to His will, knowing that He will then grant them. What is the will of God? Anything He delights to have happen. So, we have confidence before God that when we ask according to what He delights to have happen, we can have assurance that He will hear our request and answer accordingly. As Jesus said,  

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”—Matthew 7:11.

My brother or sister, God desires to give each of us our heart’s desires, but He will only give when our heart’s desire is in conformity to His will and desire for our lives. He desires to richly bless, but only inasmuch as we delight in the Giver rather than the gift sought. So, when we pray, we ask with right motives (see James 4:3), so that He might give to us according to what we properly ask.

May we pray according to His will, in confidence and faith, knowing He will not deny us what we ask, but delightfully give us what we have, by the wondrous Spirit of God Himself, set our hearts and minds upon. Amen.