Prayer does not promise to free us from trouble. Indeed, God promises us the opposite. Trials will come. Such is this world. Rather, we pray to align our hearts and minds with God’s will.
We pray that we would accept God’s ordering of things, not our own, because it is HIS Kingdom.
We pray that we will be made strong and made better in difficulty, like gold purified in fire.
We pray that we would do those things which advance God’s purposes, to shine His testimony brightest in the darkness.
We pray for those things which we believe are in God’s will — but with the same caveat Jesus used — “not my will, but Yours be done.”
We pray with our eyes on the new heaven and new earth, where all these troubles will be solved, the dead will be reunited, and every tear will be wiped away.
God-Given Strength
The mockers will say, “See! Prayer did not help!” Not so.
It is only by faith that the tragedies of this fallen world become instruments of advancing a greater purpose.
The one who has no faith is defeated because they have no hope beyond living a trouble-free life, which happens to nobody.
But to the one who has faith, the troubles of this world are like gym equipment to a gymnast. They strengthen us. They bring us close to God. They help us to understand things with an ultimate and eternal perspective.
And it is those people, made fit by the fallenness of their world, who are strong to advance works for God; who walk in His ways; and who will rejoice the greatest when God greets them and all the troubles that made them are now resolved.
To put it bluntly, they are not the killers. They are the finest of people.
No point railing against the pray-ers in trouble. You will be better served to understand their method.
Then you can live with hope and meaning, too, no matter what this fallen world throws up.
Republished with minor changes, thanks to Martyn Iles.
After breaking his back in a skateboarding accident, Forrest Frank experienced a miraculous healing just weeks later, and is now sharing his testimony to point fans to faith in Jesus.
The 30-year-old Texas-based artist, known for chart-topping hits like UP!, GOOD DAY, and NO LONGER BOUND, fractured his L3 and L4 vertebrae in late July after falling from his skateboard and striking the edge of a concrete footpath. The injury left him in severe pain and dependent on a back brace.
“I could not move an inch without excruciating pain,” Frank told his 4.6 million Instagram followers on Saturday. “I woke up today, forget to put on my back brace, just start doing the morning. I pick Bodie [my son] up and then I realised, ‘Wait, I’m not wearing my brace. What is going on?’”
Subsequent scans revealed no fractures at all. “I have complete healing in my back,” he said. “No sign of a fracture in my back. So, praise God, we saw a miracle.”
Frank’s post attracted more than 1.4 million likes and a wave of responses from fellow Christian artists and leaders. Worship leader Phil Wickham responded: “That is our God!!!! Thank you Jesus.” Kari Jobe praised God and called the healing “incredible,” while gospel artist CeCe Winans replied with a single word: “Hallelujah.”
Frank’s miraculous healing followed a powerful moment of public prayer for his recovery led by singer and pastor Tauren Wells at the Ohio State Fair on July 28.
Forrest Frank has since shared video evidence of both his injury and his recovery journey. In a TikTok post titled “Broken Back Update (proof it broke)”, he displayed X-ray footage showing clear fractures to his vertebrae.
In a top-liked comment below the video, a fan shared that they had sent the footage to their father, a neurosurgeon with 30 years of experience, without any explanation — just a request to interpret the scans.
“He said you had two transverse fractures (broken back) and the minimum time to heal is 3 months,” the commenter wrote. “So yeah it was gods [sic] work.”
Another video from the early days after the accident showed Frank in tears from the pain as his wife, Grace, helped him sit up. Both prayed together aloud, asking Jesus for help.
During his recovery, Frank recorded GOD’S GOT MY BACK from his bed, a song that tells of God’s care and protection even in times of setback. The lyrics — “God’s got my back / Even when I fall or get attacked” — struck a chord with his online audience, gathering over 42 million combined video views.
Released alongside LEMONADE, a joyful collaboration with The Figs, both songs came out on August 1 and reached top spot across all genres on iTunes. The track GOD’S GOT MY BACK also became Atlantic Music Group’s top US streaming debut of the week, amassing two million global streams in its first seven days.
Frank has explained that both songs came to him during a divinely appointed pause in his music career. While bedridden, he says he felt the Holy Spirit prompting him to capture and share his journey publicly, both the pain and the praise.
After ridding his country of violent gangs, one world leader is crediting God with his administration’s success. In an interview with Tucker Carlson on Wednesday, El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele discussed the satanic practices of the MS-13 gang, the “spiritual war” facing the Western world, and how his administration took El Salvador from being the murder capital of the world to the second-safest nation in the Western hemisphere.
Referring to the successful anti-gang crackdown as a “miracle,” Bukele attributed the endeavor’s success to prayer. “I can tell you the official formula and the real formula,” Bukele said. “So the official formula is that we did a plan … that was comprised of phases. So we rolled out the first phase and then the next one, then the next one. And then gangs started attacking back, so we had to roll out everything at once.” This official formula necessitated increasing the size of El Salvador’s military and ensuring soldiers were armed and trained properly to fight the gangs. Bukele also told his cabinet and government officials, “We are looking into an impossible mission here, so we pray.” He recalled that he would pray daily for wisdom, victory, and the protection of his people. “It’s a miracle,” Bukele said. “Because [we] didn’t have competition. I mean, they were satanic. I think that made it easier.
Bukele has had a rocky road to leadership. In 2017, he was forced out of the left-wing establishment party Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN) after criticizing the party’s corrupt leadership. He founded his own party, Nuevas Ideas, but the Supreme Electoral Court refused to register the party before the presidential elections in 2019. Bukele instead joined the conservative-leaning Grand Alliance for National Unity party, winning the presidential election with 53% of the vote.
“In 2019 — the system was totally rigged, I mean they canceled our party,” Bukele related. “We were running with a party and they canceled it, they annulled our party. So I stayed party-less, so we went to a small party and said, ‘You don’t have any candidates, you are very small, do you want to win the election?’”
“Even when I was president, even being already in the presidency, they tried to impeach me,” Bukele said of the opposition-controlled legislature during his first term. “They said — there’s an article in the constitution that says Congress can fire the president if he is not fit to lead — so they said I wasn’t fit to lead and they tried to impeach me because of that.”
On Saturday, Bukele was inaugurated for his second term as president after having won reelection with a staggering 85% of the vote. The Salvadoran constitution does not allow a sitting president to run for reelection, but the nation’s highest court approved Bukele’s reelection bid provided that he resigned from office six months prior to the election, which he did.
Jesus makes it plain that forgiveness is an essential requirement of all prayers. He also makes it abundantly clear that He will respond to all prayers of believers that are operating in obedience to God’s will, which will be the Holy Spirit’s leading.
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”Mark 11:24-25
First, go and be reconciled to them” (Matthew 5:23-24). They may not forgive you, of course; they may reject your attempt or react with renewed anger over what you did, but then it becomes their problem, not yours. You will have done everything you could to let them know you regret what happened, and that you want their forgiveness.
Paul makes it clear that God answers humble prayers given with thanksgiving. We can also then be confident that the peace of God will “guard our hearts and minds“.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
See what David has to say about prayer. He loves God because He knows God responds to his prayers. Note what David says about calling on God as long as he lives. Also, note David differentiates between his body and soul.
“I love the LORD because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.” Psalms 116:1-2
“The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, He saved me. Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.” Psalms 116:6-7
“For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.” Psalms 56:13
“For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling; I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.” Psalms 116:8-9
I love the following Scripture on prayer, it tells us so much 1. Rejoice always, 2. Pray without ceasing in allcircumstances, 3. When we do, rejoice, be thankful, and pray we are in the will of God, 4. Do not quench the Holt Spirit within you, 5. Do not despise prophecies (there are about 2000 prophecies of Jesus’ second coming), 6. Test everything, be Bereans, 7. Hold fast to what is good and reject the rest.
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good.”1 Thessalonians 5:16-21
The miraculous story of George Foreman, once the Heavyweight Champion of the World is headed to the big screen.
Inside the ring and out, George Foreman was once a man driven by anger and resentment, raging emotions, and driven to become the world heavyweight champion in 1973. Over a decade later, he did it again, but the driving force behind that record-breaking comeback was profoundly different. Foreman walked away from his boxing career for the first time in 1977 after a significant spiritual awakening. Growing up, his mother, a single parent raising 6 children, spoke of God often, a habit of which Foreman was not fond. But those words, seeds planted over time, sprung to life for the boxing champion as he recuperated in his locker room after a fight. “First time around, I was ambitious: I wanted to be heavyweight champion of the world, rich and famous and all that,” Foreman recently told Faithwire. “Then, all of a sudden, I found out there was more to life. I found God on the dressing room table, screaming, ‘Jesus Christ is coming alive in me!’”
After that life-changing conversion, Foreman’s focus was singular: He wanted to preach the Gospel. All of his stories, from growing up in poverty to becoming the two-time heavyweight boxing champion to reinventing himself as an entrepreneur, to stepping into full-time ministry, are chronicled in the new movie, “Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World”.
Many of the lessons he learned in boxing, the now-74-year-old athlete recalled, he channeled into his newfound passion for the Lord. As a scrappy fighter, Foreman had to learn to translate his raw emotion into fine-tuned athleticism. He fought just as hard for his then-burgeoning faith. “I found religion and I realized I was gonna have to fight to be in church on time,” he joked. “It was a fight to keep this thing going, that I would tell the story for as long as I live and not let it get away from me.”
Foreman fought his way to the top of the boxing world, and he battled against faith — until he didn’t. Once he encountered God, Foreman said, “I was gonna fight … to make certain everybody I met knew about it and I didn’t find anything else worthy of my time, other than doing the work of evangelism.” The legendary boxer’s faith is the by-product of his mother’s own devoted relationship with God. Early in his career, he was certain that, so long as he found fame and fortune, she wouldn’t need God, and neither would he. In fact, he thought success would “stop all that praying” his mother did. “But she never stopped praying,” Foreman recalled. “Then I became a minister … and she told me once, ‘At first, I didn’t believe in it. But now, you’re my pastor. I believe in you.’ … She said, ‘You’re my preacher.’ That is the most touching thing that ever happened to me. She believed in me and she believed in what I was doing.”
After years of ministry, Foreman, a one-time boxing champion and Olympic gold medallist, stepped back into the ring with a profoundly different perspective. Bolstered not by anger and resentment but by faith in God, Foreman went on to become the world heavyweight champion a second time in 1994, after defeating 26-year-old Michael Moorer. He still holds the record for the oldest athlete to ever achieve such a feat. Since his salvation, Foreman told Faithwire, his “whole life has been dedicated to evangelism.” In fact, that’s why he returned to boxing, in hopes that regaining such a platform would give him the opportunity to share the Gospel with a greater number of people. “All I want people to understand is … I found God, I found out about Jesus Christ,” he said. “I don’t want that lost. And I think if they go to the movie, they’ll find out there’s more to me than what meets the eye. God is in there.”
After 52 years of ministry, skydiving 98-year-old preacher, Roy Jernigan wants people to see Jesus in his life. I can relate to Roy’s testimony. I am 86 and I know God still has more for me to do specifically to alert the church to God’s soon-coming Millennial Kingdom on this earth. Checkout http://www.millennialkingdom.net
Asked to comment on the state of the American Church today:
Jernigan quickly explained that the main driver of his faith isthe Bible without the trappings of denominational restrictions.
Jernigan has certainly got this right. The denominational church is not the church Jesus established as outlined in the Book of Acts. Jesus calls us all to be disciples who make more disciples. We all like the denominational church model as it removes this essential facet of the church. It is the pastor’s responsibility to grow the church so we can get on with our lives doing what we want to do.
“I’m not a denominational man. I don’t criticize the denominations but think about this: we have all kinds of denominations — Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, you name it, and every one of them has a different doctrine,” he explained. “They can’t all be right. And so, consequently, I don’t claim a denomination. I claim to be a Christian. And as a Christian, I follow the New Testament teachings on the Apostle Paul.”
And Jernigan’s nondenominational approach to ministry aligns with the direction of the American Church today. Data from the 2020 U.S. Religion Census show that in the last 10 years, the number of American Christian adherents in nondenominational churches nearly doubled in number and surpassed America’s largest Protestant denomination, Southern Baptist, by several million adherents.
Other recent studies also show that while America remains a highly religious nation, with seven in 10 claiming affiliation with some kind of organized religion, for the first time in nearly 80 years, fewer than half now say they have formal membership in a specific house of worship. Church attendance has also continued to decline in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns.
While he admits that being a Christian today is much harder than it was 50 years ago when fewer distractions were competing for people’s attention, Jernigan believes that the model of many church ministries today is partly to blame for people deserting the pews.
“I’ll be honest with you, one of the biggest problems that pastors have today is trying to build a church on their own,” Jernigan told CP.
“Today, preachers have gotten themselves into such a rut by building big buildings with stained glass windows and everything. And the people have deserted them because they get tired of being bled to death [financially]. And hear the preacher say, ‘you got to give, you got to give, you got to give.’ My conviction is you don’t have to hound Christians to give. If they are saved, they love the Lord, they will give,” he said.
Jernigan also criticized preachers who treat their ministry as a business. “I think it’s the wrong approach. Commercial? You don’t commercialize God. I believe this is a gross mistake, that people, you see so much of this today, trying to commercialize and put things into a peaceful (more like bless me) type of thing rather than teaching the Bible,” he said. “I do believe if preachers would come down off the high horse, and quit preaching, what I call cotton candy messages, that’s all fluff and no substance, I believe there’d be a great difference in the world today.”
And as the church continues to compete for the attention of society today, Jernigan is worried that current social trends might lead to a point in society where Jesus is “completely rejected.”
“Today, there is much more to pull a person away than there was in my day,” he said. “It is much more difficult. And it does appear to me that as the time approaches (Jesus return to put things right), that things are going full circle to the extent that Christ … is going to be completely rejected.”
He urged Christians who left institutional churches but still want to maintain their Christian faith to keep reading the Bible and praying to God for direction.
“My heart goes out to so many people, it really does,” he said. “There are a lot of people out there that are hungry, and they’re thirsting for the Word of God, but they don’t have anyone to give it to them.” You be one of those Christians that does do what Jesus called us to do i.e. bring the good news of Jesus Christ to the lost.
I published the results of this research under the post – GOD LOVES YOU, DO YOU LOVE GOD? with a different message but this post is aimed at young people with the message on the CBN video.
Dr. Josh Packard, executive director of Springtide Research Institute, told CBN’s Faithwire about his extensive research into 13-to-25-year-olds, noting studies have long found “religion is good for you.”
“Faith and spirituality are good for you,” Packard said. “If you’re a person who believes in some kind of higher power and has a connection to that higher power, you’re generally flourishing more than your peers.”
He continued, “Those who pray more tend to be flourishing more in all areas, including their mental health.”
Packard’s comments are particularly stunning when America faces an “epidemic of mental health [crises] among young people.” Meanwhile, there’s also a massive rise in the proportion of “nones” who no longer affiliate with a specific faith or religion.
Data pointing to increased wellness among the faithful is particularly pertinent in the midst of these dynamics, pointing to a potential solution to cultural conundrums.
Packard said there are lessons in Springtide Research Institute’s findings that can inform the culture and churches alike, especially in an era in which faith is being downplayed or diminished.
“Young people would be … better off if more of them had a connection to something bigger than themselves,” he said. “But also, I think a lot of religious institutions and leaders would do well to take mental health into account, so that like faith and belief could be appropriately part of somebody’s overall approach to health.”
While young people might not be aligning with Christianity at rates they once were, Packard said many still see themselves as spiritual, and more than half pray.
While the separation from biblical truth is undoubtedly troubling for Christians, these realities show at least openness to a higher power. And that intrigue could lead to receptive Gospel introductions.
“We see lots of desire from Gen Z to embark on these conversations and explorations of meaning and purpose and, ‘Why am I here on this Earth?’” he said. “So, the desire hasn’t gone away. The exploration hasn’t gone away.”
As Faithwire has extensively reported, countless surveys and studies show the benefits of faith.
Recent research has found Christians are exceptional at giving, fare better in relationships, church attendees are happier and more content, and churchgoers have better mental health. Read more about these findings.
Dr. Josh Packard, executive director of Springtide Research Institute, told CBN’s Faithwire about his extensive research into 13-to-25-year-olds, noting studies have long found “religion is good for you.”
God is real and He is concerned about His Cosmos particularly those in it that He made in His image to be in a relationship with Him so it is natural that He responds to those that sincerely call on Him in prayer.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:7
“Faith and spirituality are good for you,” Packard said. “If you’re a person who believes in some kind of higher power and has a connection to that higher power, you’re generally flourishing more than your peers.”
He continued, “Those who pray more tend to be flourishing more in all areas, including their mental health.”
Packard’s comments are particularly stunning when America faces an “epidemic of mental health [crises] among young people.” Meanwhile, there’s also a massive rise in the proportion of “nones” who no longer affiliate with a specific faith or religion.
Data pointing to increased wellness among the faithful is particularly pertinent in the midst of these dynamics, pointing to a potential solution to cultural conundrums.
Packard said there are lessons in Springtide Research Institute’s findings that can inform the culture and churches alike, especially in an era in which faith is being downplayed or diminished.
“Young people would be … better off if more of them had a connection to something bigger than themselves,” he said. “But also, I think a lot of religious institutions and leaders would do well to take mental health into account, so that like faith and belief could be appropriately part of somebody’s overall approach to health.”
While young people might not be aligning with Christianity at rates they once were, Packard said many still see themselves as spiritual, and more than half pray.
While the separation from biblical truth is undoubtedly troubling for Christians, these realities show at least openness to a higher power. And that intrigue could lead to receptive Gospel introductions.
“We see lots of desire from Gen Z to embark on these conversations and explorations of meaning and purpose and, ‘Why am I here on this Earth?’” he said. “So, the desire hasn’t gone away. The exploration hasn’t gone away.”
As Faithwire has extensively reported, countless surveys and studies show the benefits of faith.
Human beings were created to live in fellowship with God. We know from God’s Word that the two people God created, in the beginning, disobeyed God and the consequence of that disobedience was separation and subsequent death.
We also know from God’s Word that God created angelic spiritual beings prior to making mankind and that rebellion by one supreme angelic being named Lucifer, now renamed Satan convinced one-third of God’s angelic beings to rebel with him. Moreover, it was Satan that tempted Eve who then enticed Adam into disobeying God. Satan is now the prince of this world and our prime battle is against him and his demons.
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.” Ephesians 6:12-13
God has provided all we need to overcome Satan and his demons. God sent Jesus, His Son to pay the price for our rebellion against Him. Once we repent of our rebellion and accept Jesus’ offer of Salvation and submit to Him as Lord then God the Father sends the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to indwell our spirit and enable us to live the Christian life as our counsellor, comforter, and teacher. Moreover, He teaches us how to pray and will even intercede for us when we do not know how to pray.
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:26-28
God has also told us the end of His Story. Satan is defeated and Jesus is made king and will rule and reign on this earth for one thousand years.
“And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Revelation 12:9-11
“They (resurrected Saints) came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:5-6
Miracles Today: The Supernatural Work of God in the Modern World. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2021
Keener is not one to throw ideas against walls to see if they’ll stick. Keener is one of the best-known scholars of the Bible and early Christianity in the world today. He is careful with his research and documents everything. The point of the book, as the back-cover states, is to demonstrate via examples “that miraculous works of God, which have been part of the experience of the church around the world since Christianity began, continue into the present.”
This stated goal is admirably accomplished by Dr. Keener. He commences the book by addressing a few preliminary questions. What is a miracle, anyway? Why do some people assume that miracles don’t happen? Do many people witness miracles? Do only Christians report Christian healings?
He then launches into the main portion of the book in which he briefly relates the details of hundreds of well-attested miracles, but especially healings. This middle section comprises about 75% of the book proper. At the end of the book, Keener addresses a few more key questions people often wonder about miracles. Why don’t we see more miracles in the West? What is the role of faith? What about when healing is temporary? What does the Bible say about non-healing?
Let us not be tardy in praying for the sick but be on time in step with the Holy Spirit.
I appreciate Keener’s candid honesty in acknowledging that most blind people who have received prayer are still blind, and most dead people prayed for are still dead (pp. 137, 202). He comments, “What we call miracles are still the exception rather than the rule,” (p. 221). But his main point is that whether you or I have personally witnessed a dramatic miracle or not, many significant and verifiable miracles have occurred and still occur in answer to the prayers of God’s people all around the globe.
One other thing I appreciate about this book is Keener’s acknowledgment that more dramatic miracles occur more frequently on the frontlines of Christian evangelism than they do where the church is well-established (pp. 31, 33 135, 183, 201, 203). He still affirms, however, that such dramatic miracles sometimes happen in the West, too (pp. 151, 203).
Practically, this book reminded me to stay expectant when I pray. In any way He chooses, and at any time He chooses, God may do something momentous to display His glory and help those who witness His mighty acts of mercy to trust Him more fully.
‘‘Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.’James 5:14-15
The clearly expected outcome – ’the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up.’ In verses 17-18, James continues to assert the miraculous power of prayers, offered in faith:
‘Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.’James 5:17-18
Clearly, James believed that prayers offered in faith would result in the physical, miraculous intervention of God. When we look at the life of Jesus, and the amount of time and energy he devoted to healing the sick, which was an expression of his deep compassion for the suffering, it is easy to see that James was closer to the truth than most Christians are today.
Jesus relied on miracles to confirm his words, moreover, He told us that those that believe in Him will do even greater works than He did.Do we really believe Him?
“I assure you: The one who believes in Me will also do the works that I do. And he will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, I will do it so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” John 14:12-14
Powerless prayers have been rendered as such by the long, slow erosion of faith among God’s people, and that erosion has been made possible by the embracing of false traditions. For example, the kind of prayers that close with ‘not my will but yours, be done’. This is not stated in faith, in expectation of an outcome, but more as a catch-all – ‘please ignore everything I just asked for, if it doesn’t suit you.’
This is not the model of discipleship we are to follow and teach, where we are completely unaware of the will of God, and our prayers are at best guesswork. Paul urges us to walk ever more closely with God, and increasingly understand his will.
‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.’Romans 12:1-2
As we yield to God’s mercy and walk closely with him, our ideas are changed. We jettison old ways of thinking, as healthier, more life-giving inspiration arises in His company, and as our minds are renewed, we become more attuned to Him and to His will. Only then, in our closeness with God, where His good, pleasing and perfect will is known, can we pray effectively.
In the early church, the lived experience of the Christian faith was far greater than it is today. There is much we have lost and must seek to restore.Back to the church as God intended as revealed in the Book of Acts.
Praying effectively: James sums it up well:
But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.’James 1:6-8
Adapted from the excellent article "The Prayer God Can’t Answer" by Duncan Edward Pile Patheos Nov. 23rd 2021
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 