Every single day of our lives on this planet brings to us blessings, surprises and challenges. There has never been (and there will never be) a time that we get to enjoy God’s goodness for a lengthy period of time without having a challenge or two that needs to be overcome. At such times, we find ourselves in a tight spot and then become eager to find a way out or around the present situation. When we become desperate, we – by natural instinct – begin to look for just anything that might be of help, even if it only gives a temporary relief.
Too often, many Christians carry this ‘natural instinct’ into their relationship with God and their prayer lives. When faced with a problem, they plan their own escape or solutions and then they start to ask God to bless their plans. They somehow believe that their self-made plans would work out perfectly (just the way they want) if only they could get God’s blessings on them.
Unknown to such believers, God does not promise to answer all our prayers – there’s not a single place in the Scriptures where He promises that! God is small enough to dwell in our hearts and make us His temple, but He’s also bigger than all of creation (heaven & earth) put together; therefore He’s able to see beyond our earthly challenges and He knows just what we need to do to overcome them. He has His own ways of getting things done and He doesn’t need us to suggest our ideas or solutions to Him.
He has provided a better way to help us find answers to the challenges that seem to overwhelm us; and it is the way of praying first before taking important decisions. It is the way that brings a more lasting and effective solution. It is the way of divine communication between Father God and His beloved children. It is the way of downloading God’s power and wisdom from eternity to our lives. We begin to walk on this way when we first learn to seek or acknowledge God’s will concerning the situation and then begin to pray accordingly. It is only when we factor in God’s will (what He says in His Word or by the Holy Spirit) that we can be guaranteed of answers to our prayers.
This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us. – 1 John 5:14 AMP
For instance, prayers that ask God to bless unrighteous acts such as stealing, fraud, adultery, same sex intercourse and marriages, violence, drug abuse, laziness, murder, greed etc. cannot be answered as they contradict God’s divine nature!
Inasmuch as God delights in answering our prayers, He also wants us to be in the center of His will for our lives. It is not just enough to pray to the Father in the name of His Son Jesus; if that were enough, every single prayer would have been answered automatically – even the prayers of those who disobey His commandments. Prayer is only potent and effective when we pray in the will of God. He is only committed to answering prayers that align with His will, purpose and divine nature!