Praying To Do God’s Will
God desires for us as his born-again children is to do his will, as did his Son, Jesus Christ. However, to be able to do his will, we need to have not only a desire, but to pray for his power and help. (John 5:30; Acts 1:8; Philippians 4:13).
HAVING A DESIRE TO DO GOD’S WILL
Peter, a chosen disciple of Jesus Christ, had a strong desire to do God’s will. He told the Lord: “Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you.” And all the other disciples said the same thing. (Matthew 26:35). However, later, when Jesus was facing death by an unjust trial; Peter, who was standing by, was accused of being one of Jesus’ disciples. At this time, Peter denied three times that he ever knew Jesus–Peter evidently was weak and fearful of dying for the Lord. (Matthew 26:69-75).
Peter and the other disciples had failed to pray as the Lord repeatedly ask them to do in the Garden of Gethsemane, prior the occurrence of the trial. They all fell asleep, as Jesus went to pray alone. Speaking of his disciple, Jesus said: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mathew 36-46).
JESUS PRAYED TO DO GOD’S WILL
Jesus knew he was the Son of God, but being in human flesh, he was aware he needed to pray to God the Father for strength and help: In the process of pursuing his Father’s will, Jesus fasted and prayed. Before the Lord Jesus Christ began his mission for God in this world, he fasted and prayed forty days and forty nights (Matthew 4:2). He prayed regularly to the Father by getting up early in the morning to commune with him. Just before sacrificing his life on a cross to atone for our sins, Jesus labored in prayer all night in the garden of Gethsemane. God the Father made clear his will to his Son and enabled him to suffer an agonizing death on the cross for our salvation (John 19:17-30).
DISCIPLES LEARNED TO PRAY TO DO GOD’S WILL
After Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, and before he went back to heaven, he instructed his disciple to wait for power and help from the Holy Spirit to do God’s will of spreading the gospel to the world (Acts 1:8). Peter and other disciples were praying on the Holy Day of Pentecost, when they received power from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit descended upon them like the dove, that descended on Jesus when he was anointed by the Father for his mission in the world (Acts 2:38; Luke 3:22). The Spirit enabled the disciples to courageously proclaim the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to thousands, who believed and were saved (Acts Of The Apostles).
APOSTLE PAUL RECOGNIZED THE NEED FOR PRAYER
Paul realized that without the Lord he could do nothing (John 15:5). Yet he believed: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). Paul prayed fervently, and he asked many churches to pray that he might effectively carry out God’s will as a chosen ambassador of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Colossians 4:3-4; Ephesians 6:19-20; 2 Thessalonians 3:1-2). God enabled Paul to suffer a great deal in doing the will of God. He suffered being in prison, severely flogged many times, stoned and left for dead, in shipwreck three time, being hungry and thirsty often, being naked and cold. And he suffered many other things, while dealing with the pressure of his concern for all the churches (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). Even while in prison, Paul wrote letters to minister to the churches. And those letters are used today in ministering to the churches of the Lord.
GOD’S WILL FOR US AS WE PRAY
God’s will for us as we pray is centered in his Son Jesus Christ (John 14:6). God desires that we come to know Jesus as our Savior and Lord (John 3:16); and he wants us to be conformed to the likeness of his only begotten Son (Romans 8:29). He asks those of us who are his disciples to tell the good news of Jesus Christ to others, that they may be saved (Mark 16:15). And ultimately he wants all of us who are saved by his Son Jesus Christ to live with him in heaven forever (John 14:2-3).
