Page 76 - The Divine Quest

The Divine Quest Page 73

align ourselves with the will of God in any matter, and we pray according to the will
of God while believing, we will have an answer. When the disciples asked Yahshua
to teach them how to pray he began:

Matthew 6:9-10
Pray, then, in this way: “Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your
kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

With these words, Yahshua revealed to His disciples that right prayer is that which
seeks the will of the Father. When Paul discerned that it was not the will of the
Father for his thorn in the flesh to be removed, he quit praying for God to remove it.
He accepted the will of God, knowing that God is not obligated to answer any prayer
that is not in accord with His will. How foolish we would be to continue seeking
something that we know is not God’s will for us.

I have been led to read some books about the life of George Muller recently, and
towards the end of his remarkable life he preached a message on prayer. What he
shared is exactly what the Spirit has been expressing to my own heart. He did not
hold to a conceive it and believe it attitude regarding prayer. He knew that other
matters were involved. In 1880 he preached a sermon where he shared the following:

Had it been left to us to make promises concerning prayer, I do not know that you
or I could have done any more than say, “Ask, and ye shall receive.” Yet, while the
promise is so full, so deep, so broad, so precious in every way, we have here, as
becomes us with other parts of the word of God, to compare Scripture with Scripture,
because in other parts additions are made, or conditions are given, which, if we
neglect, will hinder our getting the full benefit of prayer.

George Muller then went on to detail a number of conditions that were attached to
the simple “Ask, and ye shall receive.” First, our petitions must be according to the
will of God as is revealed in I John 5:14. Second, we must not ask on behalf of our
goodness or merit, but in the name of the Lord Yahshua the Messiah.

John 14:13-14
“Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”

This is a very critical point. We are not to present our petitions, asking for an answer
based upon our obedience or faithfulness to God, for this is to come to God in pride.
We have nothing that He did not give to us. If we are faithful and obedient, it is
because He has caused us to stand. We are to present our petitions in the name of
His Son alone. We are accepted because of the work of Christ, and we need to