Prayer Is Surrender
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. - (1 John 5:14)
Nothing lies outside the reach of prayer except that which lies outside of the will of God. God will only answer the request He inspires. You see, prayer is surrender—surrender to the will of God. It’s cooperation with His will.
You might be thinking, Then why even pray?
Because God wants us to be a part of the process. Here’s how it works. God puts a burden on your heart. It may be for the salvation of someone, or it may be for some other thing. But when God puts a burden on your heart, you pray. And then you see God do the so-called impossible and answer that prayer.
“Man, I’m a powerful person of prayer,” you might say.
No, you serve a powerful God. And you got in sync with him.
That is why we should pray for a spiritual awakening in our nation. When we pray for the gospel to go out and for people to believe in Jesus, I believe we are praying according to the will of God and that He will hear it. Why? Because the Bible says God is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
We want to get in step with the will of God.
Having said that, there is also a place in prayer for our personal needs, because Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11).
If I’ve contemplated the awesomeness of God and considered His will and purpose, if I’ve already surrendered my will to Him, asking for His purpose above my own, then it will have an effect on what I am praying for personally.
As I see how big God is, I will see how small my need is comparatively.
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