Prayer is submitting to the will of God

Dear children of God, once again I welcome you to “Daily Word for Spiritual Edification”! We are still talking about prayer and its ability to make us strong and fill us with God’s life.

Yesterday we talked about how the people who have made prayer the main priority in their life shine in darkness and win many victories in this life, because through prayerful fellowship with the Creator they are filled with His power and wisdom.

Any person who desires to live in continuous victory always prays and does not give up, because they rely not on their own strength, but on the power and abilities of the Almighty God.

 «Ah, Lord GOD! (..) There is nothing too hard for You» (Jeremiah, 32:17).

Jesus taught about the role that prayer needs to have in our lives.

«The He spoke a parable to them, that The He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart » (Luke, 18:1).

I want you to memorize the words ‘ought to’ and ‘always’. People must pray! God Himself has said that. God did not say: «I suggest you pray». He did not say: «It is a good idea to pray». When the Creator says that people must always pray, He knows what He is saying.

When reading the Bible, we see that prayer was #1 priority in the life of Jesus. Jesus understood the power and significance of prayer. Jesus knew why we need to pray, what is the purpose of prayer and what can be accomplished through prayer. By saying that «men always ought to pray and not lose heart», Jesus pointed out that when you pray a lot you will get tired (for example, Latvian translation uses those exact words) and you will lose heart; you will feel powerless and weak. Prayer is the medicine against gloom, tiredness and aimlessness.

I want to remind you what effective prayer is.

1. Prayer is fellowship with God – spirit to spirit.
2. Prayer is deliberate drawing near to God.
3. Prayer is quality time spent with God.
4. Prayer is a conversation – two-way movement.
5. Prayer is pouring out of one’s heart before God.
6. Prayer is waiting before God and expressing one’s love and trust toward God.
7. Prayer is supplicating God according to His will.
8. Prayer is seeking God’s will.
9. Prayer is knocking until the door is open.

Besides all of the above, there is another characteristic of effective prayer.

1. Prayer is submitting to the will of God.

When we pray, we place ourselves in submission to God’s will for our lives. The very fact that you come to God in prayer is the proof of your submission to God.

The Bible tells us to pray always; it is a command of the Lord. That is why, when I come to God in prayer, the very act of praying places me in the position of submission to this command. In other words, if I don’t pray, thus I demonstrate the lack of submission to the will of God; because praying is the command of God.

First, prayer helps me to submit to the will of God. Second, when I pray and ask God for something, I change and submit myself to the will of God so that my prayer can be effective. If a person does not submit himself or herself to the will of God, then their prayers will be hindered. So in order for the prayer to be answered, I tell God: “Not my will, but Yours be done in my life! I want what You want”. Prayer is the very thing that helps me to be in submission to God’s will. Only when I live in accordance with His will will I be happy and blessed by God Himself! Submit to the will of God! It is good for you, because the Word says that God’s will is

“good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans, 12:2).

God bless you!

Pastor Rufus Ajiboye