The will of the father in prayer

George MacDonald wrote, “Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best. God finds it hard to give because He would give the best, and man will not take it.” Perhaps this is why we pray and it seems our prayers go no further than the sound of our voice.

At the tomb of a man who was about to come forth from the grave, Jesus said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me” (John 11:41). Jesus prayed in simple direct statements. He also prayed according to the will of His Father, which meant that He was listening for God’s answer.

At times, when we insist on our own way, God gives what we are asking for at the cost of His best for us. One day I was called to the home of a family whose teenage son had just died. The young man had been mentally challenged for some years. His mother said, “I want to tell you something so that other people can profit from our failures.” She told how their boy had been injured in an accident when he was four; doctors felt he probably would not make it. She continued, “I pled with God and said, ‘God, You just can’t let our boy die... spare his life, no matter what.’ God did let him live, but he had not been normal since, and now we know that we insisted on our way, not God’s way.”

Can a person refuse God’s best, insisting on his own will? “He gave them their request but sent leanness into their soul,” we read in Psalm 106:15. Remember that praying for the will of your Father is best. It is the highest form of faith, so trust Him to answer your prayers by giving you His very best.  

Used with permission from Guidelines International Ministries. To learn more about Guidelines and the ministry, send an e-mail to [email protected]. You may also visit www.guidelines.org.