F.F. Bosworth said, “Faith begins where the will of God is known.”  What exactly does this mean for you and I with regards to our ability to receive from God?  To put it very simply it means everything.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he hearth us:  And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.  
(1 John 5:14-15)

Nearly every Christian that I know prays when a need arises, but I have learned that most are not praying correctly and therefore miss out on God’s best.  Prayer is not just telling God what your problem is.  He already knows what you have need have before you ask.  Prayer is having a discussion with God in a language that is recognized and responded to. That language is the language of faith.  We have all been guilty of spending way too much time discussing the problem with God and not near enough time praying the answer.  The language of faith must be specific and it must be according to the will of God. In other words, faith must be 100% or it is not faith. 

I would like to give you an example of how many miss it in this area. Years before I went to Rhema Bible Training Center, my wife and I were a part of a very nice church full of people who had a heart for God. During one of the services a member of the congregation presented a prayer request for a family facing a terminal disease. The request was for the church to pray that the Lord’s will be done because they were unsure of exactly what His will was in this case. When I heard this request and the prayer of the church that followed, I was so grieved in my spirit that I became righteously indignant. I did not know everything there was to know about faith but I knew this kind of praying would not produce God’s best. I knew that the child would probably die and God would get the blame in the form of the old religious slogan: “It was just God’s plan.” 

It’s no wonder that so many folks struggle with their faith when they believe that our Heavenly Father would actually have in His glorious plan the death of a young child. This error was one of the things that motivated me to obey God and attend Rhema. Rev. Kenneth E. Hagin was given the mandate to teach God’s people faith and I was led by the Holy Spirit to help him fulfill that call.

So what was wrong with the prayer?  It was not a prayer of faith. It cannot be faith unless the will of God is known. It was not 100% but rather a roll of the dice. I must say that, despite their ignorance, the family and church in our example continued to love and serve God even with the belief that He would do such a thing. That faithfulness is admirable but it is also misplaced. So many Christians rush into prayer before they discover the will of God. You cannot expect results if you do not know what the outcome should be. The Lord has challenged us to discover His will.

Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
(Eph 5:17)

For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.
(Col. 1:9)

If you want to know the will of God you need look no further than the Word of God. God’s will is His Word. I know that sounds too simple but it is the truth. The Bible tells us that Jesus and the Word are the same.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…  And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
(John 1:1,14)

In other words, you can never separate God from His Word and if you want to see the will of God in action just look at the life and ministry of Jesus. He is the manifested word of God. Jesus himself said:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.
(John 5:19)

When you see Jesus in action you are seeing the Father in action. When you hear Jesus speaking you are hearing the Father speak. The folks in our example may have had these scriptures in their heads, but revelation of these truths were not in their hearts and a faithless prayer and death was the result. My fight is not with ignorant people but rather with the devil that has blinded their eyes and hearts to the simple truth of God’s Word.

Let’s look at the ministry of Jesus to have the will of God revealed. Jesus was approached many times by people who were in need of healing and it is interesting to me that not one person was told that they had to stay sick or die. NOT ONE!  You would think that if it were ever the will of God for someone to be sick that we would find at least one example of it in the ministry of Jesus. That example does not exist but there are plenty of examples that prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it is the will of God to heal. Let’s take a moment to look at just one of these glorious examples.

And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him.
(Luke 5:12-13)

This man’s prayer was very much like the prayer in our earlier example. He knew Jesus was able to heal his leprosy but was unsure if what His will to do so. This man’s real problem was not leprosy but ignorance of the will of God. Knowing the will of God enables you to pray in faith and faith in God’s Word can change anything. Notice what Jesus did not say:  “Hey buddy, it is your lucky day and my Father in His sovereignty has chosen to heal you.” No! Jesus uttered two of the most powerful words in the bible:  “I Will.” Glory to God! In one instant the man had the will of God revealed and was delivered from a terminal disease.

How can someone read this and still believe that God wants them sick? I can already hear someone saying: “Yeah, but that was God’s will for the man with the leprosy and His will might be different for me.” Well to that person I have some great news!

For there is no respect of persons with God.
(Rom. 2:11)

This means that what God does for one he will do for the other. What Jesus did for the man with the leprosy, He will do for you. Discover the truths in God’s Word and accept them as His will for your life. Build your faith in the area of your need and then pray the prayer of faith that always brings a manifestation of the Word of God!


Step of Faith Ministries
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