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This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us (1 John 5:14, ESV).
There is blessing in walking according to God’s will. The Apostle John teaches in 1 John 5:14 that when we follow God, He hears our prayers. Then John adds in the next verse …
And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him (1 John 5:15).
God hears and answers our prayers. Let’s try finding God’s will this week.
Let’s begin our discovery by understanding God’s will. While researching the Greek word for “will” in the New Testament, one scholar said that the word can mean “God’s best offer.”
HHHHMMMHHM!
My father (on earth) was a used car salesman. I grew up in a world of “best offers.” My Dad once said, “Most car deals begin with someone asking for the best offer and believing that they will get the best deal before they purchase a car.”
But we should realize that when a salesman (car or otherwise) says, “This is the best offer I can give,” it’s not the best offer but the starting point of negotiating the best offer.
In the New Testament, God’s will is God’s best offer. He presents it once and for all, and He never compromises or lowers the price. Thinking of God’s will as “His best offer,” consider the following verses …
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21).
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).
So as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God (1 Peter 4:2).
God lays His best offer on the table of our soul — Jesus is our Lord and Savior, and we are to follow Him! There is nothing to barter. We give ourselves to Him as our “living sacrifice” and turn away from our human passions.
When we accept God’s best offer, He hears and answers our prayers.
Let’s review …
- Jesus came and died for our sins (God’s best offer).
- We follow Him with no compromise!
Since I became a believer, I’ve wanted to do God’s will.
I confess that at first, I thought God’s will and God’s blessing, were similar to haggling the price of a used car. Sort of like saying, “Hey, God, look at the great deeds I’m doing. I just led 16 people to Jesus. Now, what blessings do I get?”
I now agree with the Apostle Paul when he wrote …
Not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart (Ephesians 6:6).
A final review …
- God’s best offer.
- Our complete surrender.
- His blessings in our lives.
Let’s try God’s will this week and next!