Biblical Answer

How Do I Pray According to God's Will?

Praying according to God's will is not about imposing our will upon Him or bending His will to ours, but rather about subordinating our will to His. To know what God's will is when we pray, we can seek guidance from Scripture, which provides commands and direct promises. We should have confidence that God will answer our prayer when we ask for something that accords with a specific promise or command of Scripture. For instance, if we pray for healing in accordance with 1 John 5:14-15, which promises healing to those who pray in faith, we can be confident that God will answer our prayer.

When we don't know what God's will is, we should ask Him for deeper understanding and then pray for what seems best to us, giving reasons to the Lord why, in our present understanding, this seems to be the best course of action. We should acknowledge that God's will is to be accepted rather than altered by prayer. Jesus' example in the garden of Gethsemane, "Not my will, but thine, be done" (Matthew 26:39), shows us the importance of submitting our will to God's. We should pray with the understanding that God's will is to be accepted, not altered, by prayer.

In order to pray according to God's will, we must first have faith that God will keep His promise and direct the affairs of our life to the full accomplishment of His purposes. We should look to the future, considering big things that will focus our prayer, and pray for guidance, faith, and the ability to discern God's will. We should also seek to understand God's will through Scripture, prayer, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Ultimately, praying according to God's will is about demonstrating that we are as concerned as God is that His will be done, and that we are willing to submit our will to His.