Seeds of Wisdom

PRAYER ALIGNS YOU WITH GOD'S WILL

John 15:7 – “If you remain in Me and My Words remain in you [that is, if we are vitally united and My message lives in your heart], ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”

Prayer does not change the will of God; it helps us see, understand, and align with the will of God. We must ask according to God's will whenever we ask. Let us examine our text. It says, "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." We must not conveniently leave out the beginning part of this scripture and only run with "Ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you." The point is this: as God's Word abides in us, it begins to shape our minds and transform our intents and motives such that God's will becomes our will, His interests interest us, and His dislikes become our dislikes.

We must understand that the driving force behind whatever we are asking for must be love. Our intentions must be deeply rooted in love. Let us see James 4:3–4 which says, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions, … Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." What is being brought to our understanding is the fact that if you are asking for anything to spend on your passions, your motive is wrong, and you are already asking amiss. The word "passions" transliterates to mean lust, and by lust, we mean everything that feeds our fleshly cravings or desires. The goal is to become less and less dominated and occupied by natural desires and more occupied with spiritual desires. Our prayers must reflect and express this. Before you ask for anything, what is the motive behind it? Let everything be what glorifies God.

Further Reading: John 15:1–14, Proverbs 16:2–8, 21:2–6, James 4:3–14

Prayer: Father, help me to align my life with your will for my life.