I used to feel like the qualification used in this verse was kind of a cop out. If I ask God anything “according to His will” He will hear me. It’s like saying if I ask Betty for something she already wants, she’ll give it to me. Well, duh.
If someone asks me to give them something I was about to throw in the trash, I will happily give it to them instead. Or if I’m tired and want to go to bed, and someone asks me to go to bed, again I will happily oblige.
But that’s not exactly what this verse means. God’s will is so much broader. God’s will is that we love Him with everything we’ve got and also love other people as ourselves. Jesus said these were God’s top priorities and that all the Law is encompassed by these two ideas.
So, as long as what I ask God is in keeping with love, He’s all ears. He wants to answer my pleas. He is ready to hear my prayers. He’s ready to bless.
But when He hears me asking for hateful or selfish things, He turns away disappointed. I’m not loving my neighbor. When I ask for what I think is right, regardless of what God’s wisdom might be, He sighs and turns away. I’m not loving Him.
Jesus modeled this in the Garden before His crucifixion. He prayed for God to take away the coming pain and to please change plans. Of course He did! But crucially, He finished His prayer by saying, and meaning, “Not my will but thine be done.”
Dear God,
Thank you for the example of Jesus’s prayers at such a difficult time in His life. In my prayers, teach me how to pray with love for you and for others. Remind me that your will and wisdom are perfect. And my ideas are sketchy, at best. I trust you to hear my prayers, but do the best thing anyway.
CamDevo 