Am I Praying For My Will or God's Will Be Done?

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God answers all prayers and no is still an answer. If God says no then He has answered my prayer not according my will but to His will. I was thinking about the beautiful Lord's Prayer which addresses this fact that prayers must be, "Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven." (Matthew 6:10, Luke 11:2) - that is every time I pray, I must pray according to God's will. 

The very rule of prayer is found in 1 John 5:14-15 that there is the confidence I can claim. But what is this confidence? It doesn't mean God is a genie. No, Jesus is both my Lord and Savior. He's my Lord. Prayers to Him must conform to His will that His Father's will be done. One must ask but only according to His will and not our will. I can only get a yes for an answer only if it's for His own honor and glory.

The prayer of Jesus said, "Not my will but thy will be done." in Matthew 26:39, Mark 14:36 and Luke 22:42. Jesus was asking His Father to remove the cup but only if it were possible. A few verses later, Jesus declared that He will drink the cup that the Father has sent unto Him. He was in full obedience to the Father's will. Philippians 2:8 says that Jesus became obedient unto death. I soon reflect that my Lord is obedient unto death. Am I obedient unto death and am I asking God for that grace to carry out His will?

Prayer will never change God. It changes me. It reminds me of a couple of things I prayed for and they got a no for an answer. Why is that? Because it doesn't confide with His will. Right now, I feel like I may be praying for something that I shouldn't be praying for like for the persecution to stop rather than for my persecutor to see the truth. I may be praying for something that may ruin me rather than help in my Christian life. That's why I must pray to God to help me stop praying for anything that will not glorify Him.

Soli Deo Gloria!

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