Aborted Prayers

We are not at liberty to pray randomly for whatever our selfish minds conceive, nor are we permitted to come into his presence and vent our silly notions and mindless ramblings. If God signed all our petitions without discretion, he would end up giving away his glory.

There is a law of prayer, a law meant to weed out self-centered prayers, while at the same time making it possible for honest seekers to ask in confidence. In other words, we can pray for whatever we will, as long as it is his will.

“Now this is the confidence that we have in him, 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 the petitions that we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15, NKJV).

The disciples were not praying according to God’s will when they prayed with vindictiveness. They had petitioned God thusly, “‘When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?’ But he turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.’” (Luke 9:54-55).

Job, in his sorrow, begged God to take his life away. What if God had answered his prayer? Such praying was contrary to the will of God. The Word warns, “Do not be rash with your mouth, and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

Daniel prayed the right way. First, he went to the scriptures and searched out the mind of God. After receiving clear direction and being sure of God’s will, he ran to God’s throne with a mighty assurance. “Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes” (Daniel 9:3).

We know too much about what we want and too little about what God wants. Our prayers are denied when they are not according to his will.