By: Erlinda Mejia-Olson
PSALM 40:8 ~ "I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart."
It has been said that the real purpose of prayer is not to get man's will done in Heaven, but to get God's will done on earth.
When we pray in earnest, we are moved toward God's agenda, not our own. Prayer encourages us to see situations the way God does - to be more concerned with His will than our own. God does answer prayers, it can either be a yes or no, but He does, according to His designed timeframe . You can moan or scream for “NOW”, but it won’t do any good. Pray with humility. Humility in prayer means recognizing your unworthiness, yet knowing God accepts and loves you despite your flaws. Like the story of the two prayers Luke 18:10-14: The Pharisee was a religious man, devout and pious to the extreme, but his prayer was boastful, proud, and self-absorbed (v11). "But the tax collector stood at a distance...beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'(v13). He went home justified before God, rather than the Pharisee (v14).
Our Lord Jesus, modeled this in His prayer to our Heavenly Father before His sufferings and death on the cross: "...O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew 26:39 NKJV). He wasn't only submissive to the will of His Father, but He prayed with humility though He is perfect and just. Certainly, the Lord wants us to ask for the things we need, and even what we want - but it must align with His plan, and you must pray to Thee with a clean heart. Know that His perfect will is just that, PERFECT!
PSALM 40:8 ~ "I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart."
It has been said that the real purpose of prayer is not to get man's will done in Heaven, but to get God's will done on earth.
When we pray in earnest, we are moved toward God's agenda, not our own. Prayer encourages us to see situations the way God does - to be more concerned with His will than our own. God does answer prayers, it can either be a yes or no, but He does, according to His designed timeframe . You can moan or scream for “NOW”, but it won’t do any good. Pray with humility. Humility in prayer means recognizing your unworthiness, yet knowing God accepts and loves you despite your flaws. Like the story of the two prayers Luke 18:10-14: The Pharisee was a religious man, devout and pious to the extreme, but his prayer was boastful, proud, and self-absorbed (v11). "But the tax collector stood at a distance...beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'(v13). He went home justified before God, rather than the Pharisee (v14).
Our Lord Jesus, modeled this in His prayer to our Heavenly Father before His sufferings and death on the cross: "...O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." (Matthew 26:39 NKJV). He wasn't only submissive to the will of His Father, but He prayed with humility though He is perfect and just. Certainly, the Lord wants us to ask for the things we need, and even what we want - but it must align with His plan, and you must pray to Thee with a clean heart. Know that His perfect will is just that, PERFECT!
