READING: Daniel 1-2, 1 John 4:20-5:21
Too often, believers view prayer as a means to an end, a vehicle to get what we want. In fact, some teach today that simply asking God for blessings will result in His abundant gifts; after all, “He’s a loving God who grants us whatever we request,” they say. John, on the other hand, connected this promise with our responsibility to pray in accordance with God’s will: “This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him” (1 John 5:14-15). We must pray with the heart of God if we expect Him to hear us and respond to us.
This truth reminds us that we cannot separate our prayer life from our time with the Lord through His Word. It is in His Word that He reveals His will to us, and we cannot pray according to that will if we don’t spend intentional time in the Scriptures. We go to the Lord wanting to know Him more, seeking Him as we read, desiring to turn our heart to Him, and allowing Him to convict and change us through His Spirit. Apart from the Word, we simply cannot fully know the will of God that must govern our praying.
Thus, listening to God through His Word enables us to speak to God according to His will.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to pray according to Your will.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Daniel 3-4; 2 John, 3 John
