Saying, Asking, Praying - how to pray the perfect Will of God

I am going to try and take a purely factual, logical approach to the subject of why we need to know God's Will when we are praying, based solely on the Word of God.

According to the Word:

Without faith it is impossible to please God [Hebrews 11:6]

Anything [deed, thought action, prayer] that is not from faith is sin [Romans 14:22]

According to Mark 11:22 we are commanded by Jesus to:
"Have the faith of God"

or, more literally:
"Have the God kind of faith"

As many translation do not usually say this, here is an accurate rendering of the original Greek:
"And answering, the Jesus is saying to them, "Be ye having faith of God"

So, what is the "faith of God"? It would seem that it is very important to know this, since, as given above, without this faith it is impossible to please God, and that anything that is not of this kind of faith is sin.

This is what the Word says!!! Wow!!

Fortunately, God gives us a comprehensive answer in just one chapter of the NT (and I am not speaking of Hebrews 11 - which just adds more practical details to this matter of faith)

In Mark 11:12-25 Jesus gives His disciples an object lesson in how the God kind of faith operates.

When Jesus is going up to Jerusalem, having spent the night with His disciples in Bethany (by the way, Jesus NEVER stayed overnight in Jerusalem, once He had started His ministry), He is hungry, and sees a fig tree in the distance (this is not a symbolic reference to Israel - it's just a fig tree).

He goes up to the fig tree to see if it has any figs on it, but there are none. So, in the hearing of the disciples He speaks (calls to) to the fig tree (here is another hint - God calls those things that are not as though they were), and says "Let no one eat fruit from you ever again." (v14)

At first glance, this seems a bit harsh, since the account tells us that it was not the season for fruit. Remember, however, that Jesus is setting up a visual object lesson on the God kind of faith in this situation.

He continues on to Jerusalem, with the disciples - who probably took no real thought as to what they had witnessed. Having "drive[n] out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves", He then returns at the end of the day to Bethany. Some day!

The next morning He is again setting out, with the disciples, to go into Jerusalem.

This time, it is Peter who, obviously in great surprise, points out the fig tree they had seen the day before. It has dried up from the roots (v20). Peter cries out, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away." (v21)

Now listen to Jesus' response to the disciples (which includes us!),
"Have the God kind of faith!" [Mark 11:22]

Now stop and consider what is happening. Jesus has spoken to a fig tree, and basically told it to die. It did! Within the space of 24 hours. In fact, it may have already been dead when the disciples, with Jesus, had passed by the evening before, but since it was late (and dusk falls early and quickly in Israel - between 6:00 and 7:00 pm almost all year round), it was probably too dark for the disciples to have noticed.

Now, when you consider Jesus' response, it is very remarkable. What did he mean? Well, we will see in the next few verses exactly what He meant. These verses are ABSOLUTELY critical to our understanding, if you want to have ANY understanding of how to operate in a God kind of faith-filled life - which we are commanded by God - through Jesus - to do so.

(Again, God NEVER asks us to do something that we cannot.)

Let's take them verse by verse, trying to show what the original meaning of the text actually says to us.

Mark 11:23
Truly [verily, assuredly, literally Amen] I tell you, whoever says to this mountain, "Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!" and does not doubt at all in his heart but believes that what he says will take place, it will be done for him.

I think this is one of the most amazing verses in the Bible.

First, it's not talking about prayer - this is covered in v24-25.
It's addressed to "whoever" - meaning this applies to anyone who follows the instruction in the rest of the verse. The do NOT have to be saved. ANYONE can do this!!

Notice that use of the verb "say". Obviously we must speak out what we want to happen, in order for it happen. Is this the God kind of faith?

Well, according Romans Ch4, Paul gives a very reasoned argument as to why Abraham, the father of our faith, was accounted righteous, made in right standing with God, by his belief (=faith) in God, and in what He had said. (You should go and read it - it's too long to be included here).

God had said to Abraham "I have made you a father of many nations." [Genesis 17:4-5]

This was said BEFORE Abraham had any children, and at a time in his life when, as the Bible puts it, he and Sarah were as good as dead, and beyond any natural ability to have children.

For as Paul puts it in Romans 4:17, it is "God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did", and because Abraham believed the word of the Lord, it was accounted to him for righteousness. [Romans 4:3]

Well the same applies to us. If we believe the Word, then we should be as Abraham, who did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform [Romans 4:20-21].

(Note, for us to be able to believe God, and what He has said, we need to KNOW what is in the Word - if you don't know something, or know but do not understand, you cannot believe it! True belief is not in your head, it's in your heart, in your recreated spirit man. You can always tell what someone REALLY believes by what they say - as Jesus said, "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks").

So, we see now that the God kind of faith involves the belief, contrary to hope, without wavering, that what God has said will happen. So if we are to have this same kind of faith, then we to should do as God does:

Call those things that are not as though they are, having an unshakable certainty that what we have said WILL happen, irrespective of our situation or circumstances, and in some cases, in spite of them.

I hope that you can now better understand Hebrews 11:1

"Now faith is the assurance [literally understanding] (the confirmation, the title deed) of things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [evidence, as presented in a court of law] [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]" [AMP, with some minor additions].

So, what Jesus is saying is that, in order to have the God kind of faith, when we speak to a mountain (a better explanation would be any apparently insurmountable obstacle blocking our path - whether that is any form of lack, sickness, disease, trouble, danger, etc.), we must:

1) first identify it - call it by name, whatever the mountain is, then speak to it to be removed (i.e. for the sickness to go, for lack of finances or anything else to be replaced with plenty - all sufficiency in all things, for natural circumstances to be settled and at peace - including the weather, the ground, etc.), and

(2)most importantly of all, BEFORE we speak, have already settled firmly and absolutely, with no shadow of doubt, fear or any other negative thought or feeling in our heart, not just in our mind) that what we are about to say has ALREADY happened.

(3) after we have spoken we must NEVER say anything to the contrary, whatever the situation or even the facts seem to be telling us, and we must continue, without wavering or doubt even crossing our minds, to believe that what we have said WILL come to pass.

Only then, according to Jesus will we have what we say.

(As an aside, this principle is what the New Agers and all those "positive thinking" and self-help" gurus are promoting - which is why they work, after a fashion).

Now, here comes the difficult part.

Jesus then moves on to the subject prayer, and how to get what you pray for from God.

Before we start to look at this, please go back and read all the above. if you do not understand it, you are going to get very upset by what Jesus says next.

"For this reason, I am telling you whatever you ask in prayer, believe (trust and be confident) that it is granted to you and you will [get it]" [AMP]

First, what does Jesus mean "for this reason"? What reason? The reason that, in order to receive what you are ask for in prayer, you MUST have already believed that you have ALREADY received what you are asking for, BEFORE you pray!!!

My initial, immediate reaction to that was "If that's the case, what's the point of praying? How can I know that what I am praying for I know that I am going to receive, without ANY doubt?"

In effect, what I really need to know, before I start praying for ANYTHING, is "What is God's Will for me in this situation?"

If you cannot answer that with absolute assurance, then you had better not pray, because you will not get it!

James goes one step further, and say that if you do not have faith (i.e. believe) in what you are praying for, you are a double minded man (or woman), unstable in ALL your ways [James 1:6-8], and according to Romans 14:22 you are not praying in faith, you are praying in sin! Whoa!!!!

Now, a common prayer that many Christians make tags the phrase "if it be Thy will" on the end, almost as a safety net, in case they do not get what they are praying for - they can then make the excuse that God does not want them to have it.

Oh, mankind! Why do we ALWAYS try to blame someone else, and refuse to take responsibility for our actions. It's the same sin Adam committed, back in the Garden We truly have not changed!

The only thing that Jesus says will hinder our prayer of faith, if it is done according to Mark 11:22-24, is unforgiveness - see v25-26.

Interestingly, in v25, Jesus says that it is only when we forgive someone else can God forgive us our failings and shortcomings.

Notice the word "shortcomings".

I have already mentioned this, but in Romans 8, Paul speaks of how the Holy Spirit will help us in our "shortcomings" - when we do not know how or what to pray.

The Greek word translated shortcomings or infirmities or weakness in Mark 11:25 is paraptoma, meaning "a side-slip (lapse or deviation), i.e. (unintentional) error or (wilful) transgression:--fall, fault, offence, sin, trespass", and in Romans 8: is astheneia, meaning "feebleness (of mind or body); by implication, malady; morally, frailty:--disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness".

You can see the obvious similarities, meaning that God recognizes our infirmities astheneia, and has provided the Holy Spirit as a means to help us overcome those, especially when we pray, because He recognizes that it is hard for us to come to that place that Jesus speaks of in Mark 11:22-25 by ourselves.

Please, please, now do you understand why I keep on insisting that we all pray in tongues, in the Spirit. Paul clearly says that this is the ONLY way we can guarantee that what we are praying is inline with the perfect will of God, and will therefore get an answer to our prayers.

Now concerning the phrase "if it be Thy will". Many Christians think that they are being very correct and spiritual when they tag this onto their prayers. But, as I have said, with one exception, this is not praying in faith, it's praying in ignorance of what the Word of God says, and will not get the desired response from God.

The ONLY time that this phrase occurs in the Bible is in the accounts of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, crying out to God:

"“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.”" [Luke 22:41].

Jesus was praying what is called the Prayer of Consecration. God had required of Him that He go through the scourging, torture, abuse and finally the crucifixion. Now remember, Jesus was 100% man, and it would be unreasonable for His flesh to NOT cry out to God. Jesus KNEW what was going to happen to Him. He KNEW that this is what He had come to the Earth to do. But, understandably, His human nature was recoiling at the thought of the pain and suffering He was about to endure.

He KNEW what God's Will was - it was just the cry of His soul (not His spirit) to God that if there was any other way to complete his mission, please would God allow it, but that He would accept whatever God determined for Him and go through with it. By the time He left the Garden, He had settled in His spirit and soul to go through with God's perfect will for Him, whatever it cost. Nothing would shake Him from that determination. He had accepted, totally, God's perfect will for Him.

The ONLY time we can pray the Prayer of Consecration, using the phrase "if it is Your will" is when we are praying about God's plans and purposes for our lives. For example, it may be that we believe that God is calling us to the mission field, full time, in some distant land. Now, in our soul, we have a very strong desire to do this, but we want to be absolutely sure, before we get on that plane or ship, that this REALLY is God's perfect will for us. Please understand that God will not stop us doing something if we are really determined, but this would be a case of being in His permissive will, not in His perfect will. He will not override our will - if we decide to do something He cannot stop us.

I don't know about anyone else, but I want to be in God's perfect will for my life, not just doing something that I think is a good idea - it needs to be a "God idea".

So, you can see that praying "if it is Your will" is actually a statement of unbelief, unless you are praying the Prayer of Consecration.

Certain denominations (the Mennonites, Seventh-day Adventists spring to mind) most certainly believes that God can do miraculous healings today, if it is in His will and to His glory.

According to what Jesus says in Mark 11:22-24, unless you KNOW what God's will is, you shouldn't pray. If you do, you are not in faith, but in sin. If you want to know what God's will is, read the Word. But remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing the Rhema word of God - the Logos has to become Rhema to you personally before it has any effect on your life. But having got the faith (assurance, substance of things hoped for, of things not seen), you need to, according to Jude 20, "build yourself up in your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit" which according to 1 Corinthians 14:4 means to "pray in tongues".

So, based on that, unless you TOTALLY, COMPLETELY, WITHOUT A SHADOW OF DOUBT believe the promises in Mark 16 that whoever believes in the name of Jesus "will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover", you should NEVER pray for the sick.

The question you may ask is "How do I know that it is God's will to heal someone".

Simply put, because the Word of God SAYS SO. God is not a respecter of persons. If He heals one, He HAS to heal another. Nowhere in the Word does Jesus ever say to someone, "It's not God's will to heal you." In fact, it says quite the contrary. As I said previously, Jesus makes it clear in the Gospels that receiving of healing for our bodies has EVERYTHING to do with our faith, not whether it is God's will - because it is ALWAYS God's Will.

However, and I hope all of you reading this agree, it is never possible, in the natural, to always know what God's will is for a particular situation, especially if it involves someone else.

This is where the instructions about praying "in the Spirit" can be applied. It clearly says that we CAN pray the perfect will of God, IF we pray "in the Spirit" - and I have shown that that means, amongst other things, praying in tongues. I agree it is not limited to praying in tongues, but if you do not start there it is VERY difficult to get in that place called "in the Spirit"

In answer to a Seventh Day Adventist's assertion (and many other members of mainstream denominations), that her denomination's statement of doctrinal belief states that "we also believe that the Holy Spirit will still bestow the gift of tongues, though we believe that this gift is used to proclaim the gospel in a known language." This is contrary to Scripture. Paul CLEARLY teaches that a person who prays in tongues is praying mysteries to God, that no one except God can understand.

"For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries." [1 Corinthians 14:2].

Furthermore, the statements of doctrinal beliefs of the Seventh Day Adventists concerning the "gifts" of the Holy Spirit to the Church are not totally in line with Paul's extensive teaching of the same in 1 Corinthians 12 - 14.

In 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 Paul writes:

"1 Now concerning spirituals, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: [Thank God He does not want us to be ignorant concerning the things of the Spirit!]

2 You know that you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led.

3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.

4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord.

6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all:

8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit,

9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit,

10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He [the Holy Spirit] wills." [1 Corinthians 12:1-11]

Clearly, from this teaching there are many diversities of gifts, differences of ministries, and diversities of activities, that are bestowed upon men and women. The Bible says that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance - He gives them, and does not take them away, and they are under the direction and control of the person who receives them.

However, as signaled by the word BUT in verse 7, these are DIFFERENT from the Manifestation of the Spirit, which are usually termed, inaccurately, the "9 gifts of the Spirit" - but are in fact not so much "gifts" but rather the manifestation - the evidence, the spiritual illumination of the Spirit. They are not "gifts" because they are not given to any one person on a permanent basis, for as the Word says, they are given as and when the Spirit wills. Man has no involvement in when or how these 9 manifestations occur. All we can do is cooperate and make ourselves available to be used by Holy Spirit in the supernatural manifestation of these things, in order that the Body of Christ might be edified - built up.

Now, if you have never seen these manifestations in operation, you will not be able to properly understand them.

Jesus gave the Church "gifts" - these were the appointments, in the Body of Christ, of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers - the Elders of the Church [see Ephesians 4:11]. They operate in these callings by means of the manifestations of Holy Spirit - those identified in v7-11 of 1 Corinthians 12, and are empowered in these positions of ministry for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. [Ephesians 4:12-14]

These are the "differences of ministries" under the same Lord, that Paul itemizes in 1 Corinthians 12:5.

Note that the "work of the ministry" is NOT what the pastor does (or any of the other "ministries" established by Jesus, it's what the saints (that's the whole company of believers) are called to do. That is why we should expect the supernatural manifestations of Holy Spirit to operate, to a measure, within every believer's life, as the Holy Spirit deems necessary. I know this to be the case in my life. One of my "jobs" at church is to run the sound and recording facilities during the service. It is intended that any words of prophecy that come forth, or tongues and interpretation, are recorded. I have learned to be guided by Holy Spirit to prepare for such moments.

A week ago, I knew not just that our pastor was going to give a tongues and interpretation, but I also had an understand of roughly what she was going to say a few minutes in advance. This particular event was unusual, as she gave a few sentences in tongues, complete with arm and body movements, then gave the interpretation in English, with the same movements repeated. It was quite an involved and extensive prophecy that came forth. I knew that we would likely have tongues and interpretation at some point during that service, because I have learned that, at least in our church, if we have visitors then this usually happens. Otherwise we are usually only having simple prophecy, Words of Knowledge and Words of Wisdom coming forth. This is quite scriptural, since Paul clearly teaches that tongues and interpretations are a sign for unbelievers - meaning those who do not know about or are unschooled in spiritual things. We also have spiritual songs come forth [Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16] on a regular basis from several of the church members.

In addition, it says in 1 Corinthians 12:28:

"And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues."

The context refers to the operation of these ministries and activities [1 Corinthians 12:5-6] in the local church - it is not talking about individual believer's lives.

The list is in fact the same as that in Ephesians 4:11. The "miracles, then gifts of healings" are for the evangelist, helps, administrations refers to the pastor, and varieties of tongues has to do with the teacher of the Word. Paul explains what the "varieties of tongues" are designed to do: to give the Body revelation, knowledge, prophesy and teaching - see 1 Corinthians 4:6. For example, our Pastor has the ability to operate in the varieties of tongues during her Bible teaching, and gets on-the-fly revelation from Holy Spirit concerning what she is teaching from the Word. She also has a special annointing to operate in the gifts of healings - but again ONLY when Holy Spirit wills.

Furthermore, Helps are all those activities that have to be accomplished in the local Church, under the direction of the pastor, for it to function properly, which in practice includes, but is not limited to, ushers, greeters, the worship team (singers, musicians, worship leaders), book stall manager, media (overhead projector, sound technician, recording technician), visitations, help for the poor, prison ministries, etc, etc. - a real cornucopia of "diversities of activities". People have natural "giftings" that God gives to each person, to enable them to function in one or more of these "activities" that need to take place in the Church.

So we see that there are "differences of ministries", "diversities of gifts" and "diversities of activities". All involve people, and are necessary for the successful task of completing the "work of the ministry". As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:29-30, not everyone is "called " to be an apostle, a prophet, a teacher, and evangelist (worker of miracles), gifts of healings or bring forth revelations and knowledge through speaking in tongues. The latter gifts tend to be the province of the pastor(s), since they are the ones who are in charge in the local church, and can minister on a regular basis to their congregation, whereas the evangelist is usually out on the road, preaching the Gospel

However, all these are NOT the same as the manifestations of Holy Spirit, as listed in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. These manifestations of supernatural power are available to any believer, irrespective of their calling to the ministry, or the giftings that they have received to enable to them to fulfill their God given roles in the local Church, but only as Holy Spirit wills.

Paul is VERY careful to distinguish between these manifestations and all other spirituals that God has given to the Church, because they are not given to anyone person on a permanent basis, rather to whomever is available and willing at any given moment.

Anyway, this is another penny's worth - I hope someone finds it helpful.

John