Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– E.M. Bounds
For His Glory
If what we do in our lives does not glorify God, and especially if it glorifies us, then we are out of the will of God. Pray for God to use you as a means to glorify Him. Dr. Erwin Lutzer, Moody Church pastor, prays every morning, “God, I pray that I can glorify You today, even if it’s at my own expense.” I love that. What a great prayer. God will honor that prayer by the way. Why wouldn’t He?
In His Will
If you remember, Jesu said taught the disciples how to pray and told them to pray, “Your will be done on earth and it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). Do you think God would not answer a prayer in your life if you know it is the will of God? He will, but when He deems best, so if we pray to glorify Him and be praying for His will to be done, we are praying biblically. By the way, His will is going to be done…it’s only a question as to if we get on board and are pray according to His will!.
Pray for Others
he Bible commands us to pray for one another. That is an outward and inward expression of love for your brothers and sisters in Christ. When we pray for others, we’re like Jesus in the sense that He prays for others too, including us! Listen to Jesus’ incredible words; “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word” (John 17:20). Jesus presently intercedes for us as our High Priest before God, and as our Mediator, allows us access to the Father (Heb 4:14-16), so if Jesus prays for you, and can we not pray for one another?
Pray for You
There is nothing selfish about praying for your own needs, but sometimes I have a hard time discerning between needs and greed’s, so I need to examine my heart to see if my motives are good. I ask: Is my prayer seeking to glorify God? Is my prayer in the will of God? And, does it affect others in a good way? Praying for yourself is what Jesus told us to do, so it’s okay. We’re even told to pray for our daily bread, so pray for God’s glory, pray for His will, pray for others, and then pray for yourself to do all the first three!
Conclusion
It’s not hard to find the will of God. God’s will is found in Scripture. The more you read the Bible, the more of God’s will you will know, and the more of God’s will you will know, will let you live out the will of God and help others do the same thing (Heb 10:24-25). That’s exactly what we need in these days leading up to Jesus’ return.
