What are you requesting from God in your prayers? Do your prayers align with His purposes

and promises?

We should never expect God to answer our prayer in a way contrary to His nature. He is

sovereign, eternal, holy, just, and righteous. Yet, He is also loving, merciful and gracious. God’s

attributes are never to be understood apart from each other as if they were different from each

other. Rather, they are descriptive of each other. For example, God’s love may be described as

a holy love; God’s justice is loving and eternal; His holiness is loving and omniscient. If we extol

one of God’s virtues at the expense of another, we lose sight of His full glory. For example, love

that is not holy and pure is not divine love.

Although God has expressed His will in sacred Scripture, we may also err in knowing God’s will

by the way we interpret Scripture. For example, we may pick out a particular verse in Scripture

and isolate its meaning from related Scripture that further explains it. How can we understand

the promise and blessing of prayer in one verse without also understanding the verses that

explain its broader context?

When God’s will is clear to us through Scripture and we have not hindered our own prayer life

(e.g. unconfessed sin, selfish motive, doubt, forgiveness, and broken relationship), we may

boldly pray with confidence whatever is consistent with His will, knowing that our prayers will be

answered in the best possible way.

God has revealed to us that we have been predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His

Son (Romans 8:29). The Bible also says that it’s God’s will that we be sanctified (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

As we pray for the things that matter to God, we know God will be pleased

to hear our prayers and answer them.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to

his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that

we have what we asked of him. (1 John 5:14)

Jesus knew that His prayers should be offered in light of God’s will. Therefore, on the night He

was betrayed, Jesus earnestly prayed, “Father if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet

not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

Are you boldly praying what is good and pleasing to the Father? God asks the rhetorical

question, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is there anything too difficult for

Me?” (Jeremiah 32:27). Do your prayers reflect what God expects from you? If not, try praying

for more boldness.

By Jim Connell



Jim is the founder and retired director of Lexington Rescue Mission and author of

Jesusislordblog.com, faithanswerspress.net, and Creator of FAQs of Faith (mobile app).