Question: Praying According to His Will?

[loolalooh]

Say Person A prays this prayer:

"If it is Your will that X happen, then show me by doing Y."

If Y then happens, is that considered confirmation of the prayer? Should the person take it as is or pray several more prayers for further confirmation?

Advice (especially with Scripture) will be helpful. Personal testimonies are also welcome.

Thanks.

 

[Shimmie]

Say Person A prays this prayer:

"If it is Your will that X happen, then show me by doing Y."

If Y then happens, is that considered confirmation of the prayer? Should the person take it as is or pray several more prayers for further confirmation?

Advice (especially with Scripture) will be helpful. Personal testimonies are also welcome.

Thanks.

There's an instance in the Bible where King Hezekiah was ill (he had a boil on his body which was serious enough for God to send him a message that he was going to die.

King Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed unto God to heal him and to give him an additional 15 years of life. God granted him his prayer request and healed him and said yes to extending his life 15 more years.

Hezekiah asked God for a 'sign'; he asked God to turn the sun dial backwards a specific measure of time. And God did just that; turned back the 'hands' of time (via the sundial).

OKAY............ NOW here's the thing about this. Hezekiah 'doubted' God's Voice. King Hezekiah was a very proud King and this interfered with his relationship with God, therefore he was in need of a 'sign'.

We have to be careful when asking God for signs, because the enemy is also very deceptive in presenting a 'sign' which may convince someone that it's a sign from God, when in reality it is not.

I am not saying that God will not and has not given people signs, because the Word of God speaks of signs and wonders... quite a few of them , in fact, many of them. However, asking for signs means that we have doubt; that there is uncertainty and this is what satan literally pounces upon.... 'our' doubt.

For example, over and over satan said unto Jesus... "Did not God say.... ? in order to tempt Jesus after he came from the wilderness and fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. satan was not only tempting Jesus (who could not be tempted), but the enemy was also trying to place doubt into the heart of Jesus. Yet.... Jesus knew His Father's voice..... His response, beyond any shadow of a doubt was... It is written.... Ending the conversation with 'Get thee behind me satan..."

God wants us to be so close to Him that we never have to doubt that He has heard our prayers; and answered them.

For as Jesus said, 'My sheep know my voice and the voice of a (the) stranger, [they] shall not follow.'

Blessings sweetheart.

 

[loolalooh]

^^^ Thank you, Shimmie!

 

[aribell]

I agree with Shimmie. Signs may or may not be of the Lord. And I have definitely experienced what I now believe were counterfeit signs. In pondering this same question yesterday I came to the conclusion that the only way to really know whether something is of the Lord is to 1) know His word inside and out so that we can easily identify when something doesn't line up with His word, and 2) discern the fruit of the Spirit in the situation.

I think that asking for insight into how Scripture applies to the situation and also the ability to discern the fruit this thing is or will produce is more reliable than asking for signs.

 

[LoveisYou]

There's an instance in the Bible where King Hezekiah was ill (he had a boil on his body which was serious enough for God to send him a message that he was going to die.

King Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed unto God to heal him and to give him an additional 15 years of life. God granted him his prayer request and healed him and said yes to extending his life 15 more years.

Hezekiah asked God for a 'sign'; he asked God to turn the sun dial backwards a specific measure of time. And God did just that; turned back the 'hands' of time (via the sundial).

OKAY............ NOW here's the thing about this. Hezekiah 'doubted' God's Voice. King Hezekiah was a very proud King and this interfered with his relationship with God, therefore he was in need of a 'sign'.

We have to be careful when asking God for signs, because the enemy is also very deceptive in presenting a 'sign' which may convince someone that it's a sign from God, when in reality it is not.

I am not saying that God will not and has not given people signs, because the Word of God speaks of signs and wonders... quite a few of them , in fact, many of them. However, asking for signs means that we have doubt; that there is uncertainty and this is what satan literally pounces upon.... 'our' doubt.

For example, over and over satan said unto Jesus... "Did not God say.... ? in order to tempt Jesus after he came from the wilderness and fasting for 40 days and 40 nights. satan was not only tempting Jesus (who could not be tempted), but the enemy was also trying to place doubt into the heart of Jesus. Yet.... Jesus knew His Father's voice..... His response, beyond any shadow of a doubt was... It is written.... Ending the conversation with 'Get thee behind me satan..."

God wants us to be so close to Him that we never have to doubt that He has heard our prayers; and answered them.

For as Jesus said, 'My sheep know my voice and the voice of a (the) stranger, [they] shall not follow.'

Blessings sweetheart.

Thanks so much for this post Shimmie, answered a lot of questions I had.

 

[Prudent1]

Say Person A prays this prayer:

"If it is Your will that X happen, then show me by doing Y."

If Y then happens, is that considered confirmation of the prayer? Should the person take it as is or pray several more prayers for further confirmation?

Advice (especially with Scripture) will be helpful. Personal testimonies are also welcome.

Thanks.

I have nothing to add to Shimmie's rather on point explanation. Here's a little more food for thought from the word. At the root of asking for signs is a lack of trust rooted in a fear of something. Fear is truly the root of all evil. As we all know, obedience, often times blind obedience, is very pleasing and vitally important to God. He savors an opportunity to show up in ways we couldn't see before hand. While he doesn't mind us putting him to the test (Mal. 3:10-10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty,...
Psa34:8- 'Taste and see that the LORD is good..." ) it is all in the internal attitude/ heart/ mindset of the person asking. It all comes together to help us develop in the area of trusting God.
Gideon had some doubts/ concerns:
Judges 6:36-40
36Then Gideon said to God, "You say that you have decided to use me to rescue Israel. 37Well, I am putting some wool on the ground where we thresh the wheat. If in the morning there is dew only on the wool but not on the ground, then I will know that you are going to use me to rescue Israel." 38That is exactly what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the wool and wrung enough dew out of it to fill a bowl with water. 39Then Gideon said to God, "Don't be angry with me; let me speak just once more. Please let me make one more test with the wool. This time let the wool be dry, and the ground be wet." 40 That night God did that very thing. The next morning the wool was dry, but the ground was wet with dew.
And who can forget Abram's example in Gen. 12:1? He very likely had doubts and concerns as well but he did it anyway.
1Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

John 20:29-
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.
I'll paraphrase a bit here. We are blessed when we are obedient (with the corresponding actions) and believe even though we are not afforded the opportunity to utilize our 5 natural senses.