I am a believer, and I pray to God just like any other believer. By the grace of God, I have been gifted with knowledge and understanding. With this knowledge and understanding, I analyze and observe many practices that believers engage in.
I do this primarily to improve my own prayer life and avoid mistakes. However, because Proverbs 3:27 commands us not to withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in our power to act, I also do my best to share what I learn.
Today, I’ll be sharing a trend I have observed that bothers me. Before I get into the trend, let me share some basics to help you understand where I am coming from.
I am a firm believer in Jesus Christ as the only Lord and Savior. On top of that, I believe God is relational. This means that I believe God speaks to His children concerning many things: prophecies, warnings, directions, etc.
I have received prophecies and directions in my own life, most of which have come to pass. This very ministry is a prophecy I received many years ago. I have also received countless directions from the Lord that have led me to this point in life.
Here is where my observation begins.
Finding the best idea
In the church where I received prophecies about my own life, it was very common for people to receive prophecies. During the years God allowed me to be there, I noticed a trend that really bothered me. Let me give you an example of a scenario that I witnessed so that you understand.
One time, I was appointed as a department leader in church. To be specific, I was appointed as a treasurer, the position of Judas Iscariot. As you would expect, the position is sensitive and prone to temptations.
One day, we sat in a meeting to discuss an income-generating activity. The main aim was to have income to help fund the department. The first agenda item of the meeting was for us to suggest activities that could help us generate income.
We all suggested different activities, and everyone was given an opportunity to explain how their idea would help achieve the vision of the department.
We reasoned through what had been suggested, and as expected, we had to pick one idea out of all those raised, and that is where we had a problem.
Some of us leaned more toward the most practical idea, while others leaned toward what they considered the most “godly” idea.
Unfortunately, the most practical ideas were not considered the most godly ones. Those on the practical side argued that because the ideas were very practical, they would generate the funds we needed. Those on the “godly” side argued that we were a godly team and had to do godly things.
Eventually, the overall leader said we should all go and pray about it.
Praying for God’s will
I don’t know whether everyone prayed about it, but for me, there was little to pray about. I’ll explain.
The first challenge was deciding the approach I would use to pray about such a matter. What would I ask God? What was my request? How would I frame my prayer? These questions flooded my mind.
The second challenge was that I had already made up my mind, and praying felt like wasting God’s time. As the head of the department, I had already decided on the idea I wanted us to implement, and I was not willing to change it. I only wanted it implemented.
The honest prayer in my heart was: “Lord, show me how to convince the other members of the team to follow my idea.”
The leader had instructed us to pray for God’s will to prevail. While that sounded like a good idea, it had its fair share of trouble. The question in my mind was: whose idea is God’s will, and whose idea is not? Are we not all children of God, with the mind of Christ, as 1 Corinthians 2:16 tells us?
Because I was conflicted, I never prayed about it.
In our next meeting, the leader didn’t ask us what the Lord had revealed to us when we prayed. Instead, she simply said her idea was the will of God, and that was the idea we were going to implement.
While I didn’t think her idea was bad, I had a problem accepting that it was the will of God. If her idea is the will of God, then whose will is my idea? If I were in her position, wouldn’t I have also said my idea was the will of God?
These questions bothered me, but I remained silent.
Fast forward a few months, and we implemented her idea. It failed. A sinister voice in my head wanted me to go and ask the leader, “God’s will has failed, hasn’t it?” But I felt that would bring unnecessary chaos.
Instead, I decided to ask God what He thought about the whole situation. That is when I learned a very important lesson.
The facets of God’s will
The Lord helped me understand that His will is like a cup of milk tea with one distinct taste. However, that cup of tea has four distinct ingredients: water, milk, tea leaves, and sugar. Each ingredient contributes to the final taste.
Water represents the will of the Father. Milk represents the will of Jesus. Tea leaves represent the will of the Holy Spirit. Sugar represents the will of man.
For a perfect cup of tea, or, in other words, a perfect decision, there must be a proper balance between the will of the Father, the will of the Son, the will of the Holy Spirit, and the will of man.
God included the will of man in His perfect will so that man would not be a puppet in His decisions. As a result, our opinions matter to God.
This is why Jesus asked His disciples for people’s opinions about Him in Matthew 16:13. It is also why Jesus expressed His opinion to the Father in Luke 22:42, even though He ultimately allowed the Father to decide.
Had Jesus not explicitly mentioned His will to the Father, we might have concluded that the Father forced Him to die on the cross. But because Jesus permitted the Father to make the final decision, we understand that He accepted the Father’s will freely.
Expressing yourself to God
What I have observed is that some believers avoid expressing their opinions to the Father, fearing that their opinion may contradict His will. But in doing so, they put God in a difficult spot.
God cannot do anything for you unless you express your opinion. Your opinion does not have to perfectly align with what God wants. You just need to express it.
Think of it like a court case: even if the accused is guilty, they are still given a chance to defend themselves, so that justice is not perverted. Likewise, God waits until we express ourselves before He carries out His will so that our free will is not infringed.
This also explains why the leader’s idea failed despite it being ‘the will of God’. In reality, the idea was the will of the leader.
The idea did not fail because it was bad, but because God was not genuinely included in the process through honest engagement.
Conclusion
Therefore, express your opinion to God without fear. Whether it aligns with His will or not, bring it before Him. Your honest opinion opens the door for you and God to deliberate, preparing the way for Him to execute His will in your life.
If what you desire does not align with God’s will, He will let you know. If it does align, He will affirm it.
However, if you remain silent, waiting passively for God’s will to happen, you may miss out on your desires and also the relational process He longs for.
Let’s take the example of David. He pleased God with his desire to build Him a temple in 1 Kings 8:18: ‘..You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name.’
Although he displeased God with his actions regarding Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11:27, God still called David a man after His own heart because of his alignment with God’s desires and his openness before Him.
God bless you.