Pray in the Will of God

“These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” 1 John 5:13-15

Charles Finney was one of the foremost evangelists of the nineteenth century. The foundation of his ministry was preserving prayer. In his Principles of Prayer, Finney instructs the believer:

“There are three ways in which God’s will is revealed to men for their guidance in prayer.

1. By express promises of predictions in the Bible, that he will give or do certain things.

2. Sometimes God reveals His will by Providence. When He makes it clear that such and such events are about to take place, it is as much a revelation as if He had written it in His Word.

3. By His Spirit. When God’s people are at a lost (about) what to pray for, (but while also being) agreeable to His will, His Spirit often instructs them. When there is no particular revelation and Providence leaves it dark and we know not what to pray for as we ought, we are expressly told that the ‘Spirit also helpeth our infirmities’ and ‘the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.’”

The Word of God, the Providence of God, and the Spirit of God - all are supernatural aids to discerning the will of God in prayer.

“So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:17