How can I be sure I am praying according to the will of God?

John says, "This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us; and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." Now how are we to know the Lord's will from our own fancies and imaginations? By His word. If I go and pray for a thing not founded on the knowledge of the Lord's will as revealed in His word, I cannot have confidence about it. Were He to grant me what I desire, He might very likely only be answering my own foolish, corrupt will. If my flesh is at work, and my soul is not brought into obedience and subjection to the word, I cannot be "praying in the Spirit." The first thing the Spirit would do would be to humble me by the word into a sense of the condition in which my soul is. Supposing, for instance, I am walking carelessly and inconsistently, and yet am beginning to ask, as a very great Christian, for things only suited to the state of such an one; if the Lord were to answer my petition, it would only tend to make me a hypocrite. The first thing the Spirit would do in such a case would be to make, me humble under a sense of my real heed. Prayer in the Spirit is always from a humble sense of need; then be it but a sigh or a groan, it is prayer in the Spirit. If we know our spiritual need, and cry to the Lord under the sense of it, we may always reckon on an answer. If our desires are according to God, they cannot be according to the flesh: The very thing the Lord would ever have us to learn is our real need; and He would have us do this in order that we might draw out of His fulness for its supply.

We want to look at a few particulars. There are certain conditions upon which God answers prayer. We often ask for things which are not expedient for us. If a wrong thing is urgently asked from God, and it is at last given, it always ends in sorrow. "He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul" (Ps. 106:15). Our petitions must be in accordance with His will. His will is perfect, and when our prayers are in harmony with that will, in a line with it as it were, we know that we have our petitions. "Very well," you say, "how am I to ascertain what is the will of God? "There are various ways of finding out. Take the promises that God has given — "exceeding great and precious promises." I have never yet counted them, but it might be a profitable occupation for any who wish to do so. Anyhow, every promise that God has given us is a declaration of His will. He means that we should claim and have it. Therefore if you bring your request on the ground of a promise of God you have a sure foothold.

In John 15 the Lord has given us another condition - "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (v. 7.) This is sometimes spoken of as a lower kind of prayer, but the slightest examination of the terms our Lord employs will dispel the misconception. True it is asking what we will, but this is preceded by a double condition. The first is, "If ye abide in me." Now abiding in Christ is the constant maintenance in our souls of our dependence upon Him for life, strength, and everything; a dependence as complete as that of the branch on the vine for its power to bear fruit. "Apart from me," He says, "ye can do nothing," anymore than the branch could bear fruit after it was severed from the vine. Whatever of life towards God, service in testimony, fruit-bearing of every kind, that flows out from His people, has its source in Him, and can only flow out through them, as the connection is maintained by abiding in Him, realizing that they are dependent on Him, that in this sense they live, move, and have their being in Him. Then He adds, "And my words abide in you." The two things must go together - abiding in Him and His words abiding in us. The first gives the secret of the power and the second the knowledge of His mind; for when His words abide - dwell in us - they become the source of His thoughts to us; yea, they form His mind, and as a consequence what we will is according to His will. This reveals to us that our prayers - the prayers that have power with God - flow from God's own mind as revealed in the Scriptures. An example of this may be found in the life of David. When the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David that not he, but his son, should build Jehovah's house, and gave him promises concerning his own house, his throne, and kingdom, he went in and sat before the Lord with his heart overflowing with gratitude, and praise, and prayer; and, among others, he used these remarkable words, "Thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee." (2 Samuel 7:27.) That is, David's prayer concerning his house was founded upon and formed by the gracious communications which Jehovah had been pleased to make. So likewise our truest prayers are those which spring from the word of God, the words of Christ, as in John, dwelling in our hearts, because we then pray in communion with, as well as according to, the divine mind, and hence necessarily also in the Holy Ghost.

In the gospel of Matthew another aspect of prayer is presented - "All things, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (Matt. 21:22; see also Mark 11:24.) James too speaks of the necessity of faith in asking, and adds that a waverer must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Now faith can only spring from confidence in God about the thing sought, and this confidence in God will only follow upon the conviction that what is prayed for is according to God's will; and, it may be added, the assurance that we have the mind of God can only be produced by the Holy Spirit, and by the Holy Spirit, speaking generally, through the written Word. Once having this assurance, we await with the certainty of expectation the answer, according to that word of the apostle John: "This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." (1 John 5:14-15.) This passage is important as showing that faith finds its sure foundation in the knowledge of God's will - a will that is unfolded to us in the Scriptures.

“And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” The knowledge of His faithfulness and the absolute truth of His Word of course inspire utter confidence in Him; so that prayer — the very breath of the new life — is the expression of confiding dependence: the soul draws upon the pure love of the Father’s heart, not with fleshly effort to persuade God to our point of view, but with honest confidence that His will is far better than the best our own wisdom might devise. How precious is such a calm, tranquil, living persuasion that we are perfectly cared for by an active love that works ceaselessly for our greatest good, however to the contrary outward appearances may seem when judged on the basis of present advantage. And before any answer appears for the observation of our natural senses, we may yet be absolutely certain we have the petitions we ask if we have asked according to His will. For faith certainly knows that the will of God will triumph; and if our requests are not according to His will, then certainly in the final analysis we should not want them fulfilled anyway. If in anything we are disappointed as to an answer, this is necessary training, to lead us to judge that which is mere personal desire rather than the will of God, and to give fuller, purer joy in “that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” How important then to have a proper, well balanced view of prayer; and to pray “in the Spirit,” with wholehearted desire to know and prove in experience the sweetness of the will of God. Simplicity of faith, honest unquestioning confidence in His unfailing love, must always be present if we are to pray in the Spirit. In this there are no unseemly demands, no fleshly haste or impatience, but the very real “peace of God” keeping the heart and mind.

Compare verse 35. This is ever the Lord's word to faith. I suppose faith ever runs parallel with the Lord's will, for faith has its operation in the power of that kingdom which is the fulfilment of the Lord's will; when the request flows from our own will therefore, it cannot be the prayer of faith, and is a mere subjection of God and His counsels to our fallen wills. Accordingly, "We know that whatsoever we ask according to His will, He heareth us." And I am persuaded this knowledge of the divine will and faith run proportionally. It is (not knowledge properly but) in fact the knowledge of faith, and where there is the enquiry of faith, short of the apprehension of the will of God, we pray in truth in implicit subjection to His will, looking for that increase of the Spirit which shall enlighten us in power of conversation. Our personal necessities, however, may, even in this subjection to the divine will, be brought before God; when there is genuine trust in Him, we propose ourselves for mercy. The "What wilt thou" is God's part; the "We will" comes quite wrong from us, and marks want of trust or acknowledgment of the need first of mercy, and we generally, in such case, "know not what" we ask. And hereto the word of man, besides the willingness, applies "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst," and the Lord said: "I will, be thou." The point we should practically enquire into is, Is our will concerned, or is there simple-hearted reliance upon the wisdom, and acknowledgment of the righteousness of the divine counsels and will? If it be our will, we may judge it (and this includes our judgment) to be at variance with the divine counsels, and injurious to our own peace, though it may, as the two disciples had, have a reference generally to, and seeking strong acknowledgment of the object of faith. However, there is a distinction between doing this in ignorance and misled perhaps by others, as here, and wilfully as in the Jews in the wilderness. In the latter case, I conceive the object will be found ever present and personal, and to be real distrust, and love of present gratification.

Then he very beautifully refers to his desire that they should pray for him, and the reason for it is very striking. Who is it that can ask that familiar favor, "I want an interest in your prayers"? The apostle says, "Pray for us; for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly." His desire was to glorify Christ. If some one says, "Will you pray for me?" might we not well ask, "Have you a good conscience? Are you willing in all things to live honestly before God? Is it your desire to live according to God's will; or, do you want by prayer to have God's will turned around to your will? The essence of all prayer is submission. "Thy will be done" precedes the petition for daily bread.

But now look at our verse. The character of the prayer contemplated is this — "in the Spirit." It is to spring not from the flesh and its desires but from the Spirit and His desires. Now the Spirit indwells the saints in order that He may not only teach them but also control their thoughts and desires, moulding them in mind and heart after Christ. The flesh is still in us of course, and very easily we may be governed by it, so that our prayers become but a crying out for just the things which an ordinary unconverted person would cry out for under similar circumstances. Let us search our hearts as to this first point, lest our prayers become powerless by reason of their being but fleshly desires. If our minds are well furnished with the Word of God, which unfolds to us His purposes and ways, and well governed by the Spirit of God, so that the flesh in us is judged, we shall be able to pray in the Spirit. Our prayers then will bear the right character.

The word of God and prayer are constantly combined in the Scriptures; and thus the next thing enjoined is "praying in the Holy Ghost." It might almost be said that these two things cannot well be disjoined, for whenever the word of God is received into the heart it must produce prayer. Jude speaks of "praying in the Holy Ghost," for in truth no other is real prayer. Petitions may be offered, prayers made, but the only prayer according to God is that which is the fruit of those desires begotten within us by His Spirit. Here, however, praying will rather mean the maintenance in the soul by the Holy Ghost of the constant sense of entire dependence upon God, for that is both the secret of safety and strength. (Compare Psalm 16:1.)

But we require to have that Word as the living principle in our own souls. The Apostle prayed for the Colossians that they might be filled with the knowledge of His will, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so as to walk worthy of the Lord unto all well pleasing. It is not only our privilege to see the will of God in Scripture, but to have it engraven upon our hearts, so that we are filled with the knowledge of it. It becomes then part of ourselves. It is not merely an external rule to guide us in our earthly journey in harmony with the mind of the Master whom we desire to serve, but it has formed us by its own living power, which is that of the Holy Spirit of God, so that it is our very nature. It is not a mere commandment, though it never ceases to be the authoritative voice of God in His Word to our souls, but it has so shaped us, that we fall naturally into the pathway of His will, as a path well known to our souls, and in which is all our delight.

In John 15 the Lord has given us another condition — "If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." (v. 7.) This is sometimes spoken of as a lower kind of prayer, but the slightest examination of the terms our Lord employs will dispel the misconception. True it is asking what we will, but this is preceded by a double condition. The first is, "If ye abide in me." Now abiding in Christ is the constant maintenance in our souls of our dependence upon Him for life, strength, and everything; a dependence as complete as that of the branch on the vine for its power to bear fruit. "Apart from me," He says, "ye can do nothing," anymore than the branch could bear fruit after it was severed from the vine. Whatever of life towards God, service in testimony, fruit-bearing of every kind, that flows out from His people, has its source in Him, and can only flow out through them, as the connection is maintained by abiding in Him, realizing that they are dependent on Him, that in this sense they live, move, and have their being in Him. Then He adds, "And my words abide in you." The two things must go together — abiding in Him and His words abiding in us. The first gives the secret of the power and the second the knowledge of His mind; for when His words abide — dwell in us — they become the source of His thoughts to us; yea, they form His mind, and as a consequence what we will is according to His will. This reveals to us that our prayers — the prayers that have power with God — flow from God's own mind as revealed in the Scriptures. An example of this may be found in the life of David. When the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David that not he, but his son, should build Jehovah's house, and gave him promises concerning his own house, his throne, and kingdom, he went in and sat before the Lord with his heart overflowing with gratitude, and praise, and prayer; and, among others, he used these remarkable words, "Thou, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, hast revealed to thy servant, saying, I will build thee an house: therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee." (2 Samuel 7:27.) That is, David's prayer concerning his house was founded upon and formed by the gracious communications which Jehovah had been pleased to make. So likewise our truest prayers are those which spring from the word of God, the words of Christ, as in John, dwelling in our hearts, because we then pray in communion with, as well as according to, the divine mind, and hence necessarily also in the Holy Ghost.

In the gospel of Matthew another aspect of prayer is presented — "All things, whatsoever ye ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." (Matt. 21:22; see also Mark 11:24.) James too speaks of the necessity of faith in asking, and adds that a waverer must not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Now faith can only spring from confidence in God about the thing sought, and this confidence in God will only follow upon the conviction that what is prayed for is according to God's will; and, it may be added, the assurance that we have the mind of God can only be produced by the Holy Spirit, and by the Holy Spirit, speaking generally, through the written Word. Once having this assurance, we await with the certainty of expectation the answer, according to that word of the apostle John: "This is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him." (1 John 5:14-15.) This passage is important as showing that faith finds its sure foundation in the knowledge of God's will — a will that is unfolded to us in the Scriptures.