By: John Mitchell
How true, and how false, is the title to this spiritual article.
It is true that God did create everything. “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.” (Colossians 1:16). And it is true that God is in control of everything. “And suddenly a great tempest arose on the sea, so that the boat was covered with the waves. But He was asleep. Then His disciples came to Him and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us! We are perishing? But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. So the men marveled saying, who can this be that even the winds and the sea obey Him?” (Matthew 8:24,27) God had authority and control over the storm. When difficult situations come our way in life, if a person is a Christian, then he or she can depend on God answering our prayer, for His will to be done in our life. If a person is not a Christian, then he or she is on their own, to use their own abilities, to overcome, or be defeated by the circumstances of life. We Christians submit our will to God, praying for His will to be done, then we know that God’s will, will be done in our life. God controls by arranging the circumstances of a Christian’s life, for His will to be done in our life. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) (“To those who are the called according to His purpose”, are the Christians). A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” (Psalms 119:105) It is amazing how reading and studying the Bible every day will change your life for the better. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5,6) It is false that God’s will is always going to be done, because he gave each one of us a free will. If a person does not want God’s will to be done in their life, then God will not force on them against their free will His good plans for their life. When a person says no to God’s will being done in their life, they are saying no to salvation, and no to eternity in heaven, and yes to condemnation and yes to eternity in hell. When a person says yes to God’s will being done in their life, they are saying yes to salvation and yes to eternity in heaven. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9). It is God’s will that no one perishes, “not willing that anyone should perish” and it is God’s will that everyone repents of their sins, “but that all should come to repentance”. If we don’t repent of our sins, which is to stop sinning, and turn away from our sins, and be baptized for the remission of our sins, we will perish. We can easily see that everyone does not repent of their sins, and follow and obey God’s will for them. We each have a God given free will. We are free to chose to repent of our sins and obey God, or to not repent of our sins and not obey God. “For many are called but few chosen.” (Matthew 22:14). God will not override, or interfere with our free will. God’s will for us is for us to be a righteous Christian. If a person prays to God to help them to not get caught, while they rob a bank, then they are on their own. God is not going to bless and protect anyone who is violating His laws. “Thou shalt not steal”, and man’s law of not stealing from anyone. God is not our servant, on call, 24 hours a day, to help us to accomplish everything that is in our will to do. God is the Creator, and we are the created. God is our Master, and we are His servants. We servants of God should pray. Father God, please guide me and show me how I can serve You today. There are only two choices we can make with our free will. We can live our life according to our own will for ourself, or we can live our life according to God’s will for us. God our Creator, knows what is best for us, and He wants us to have what is best for us. There is no better plan for our lives than God’s plan for us. We can have God’s plan for our life by becoming a Christian, and by telling God that we submit to His will being done in our life, and daily praying for God’s will to be done in our life. We can pray for ourselves and we can pray for others. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (Jams 5:16) We need to pray for God’s will to be done in our lives, and in the lives of others. In John 5:6, Jesus asked the paralyzed man “Do you want to be made well?” The paralyzed man had to tell Jesus that he did want to be healed. How sad it was that after Paul preached the gospel to King Agrippa, he said, “You almost persuaded me to become a Christian,” (Acts 26:28) Paul did what he was supposed to do when he preached the gospel to King Agrippa. Then King Agrippa used his free will to not accept the gospel message that leads a person to eternal salvation. We can pray for God’s will to be done in other people’s lives. If we pray for someone who is sick, to be healed, and they die, then it wasn’t God’s will that they be healed. Then we can pray for God to help us to accept His will for that person. In Mark 2:1-12, the friends of a paralytic man lowered him through a roof, so that Jesus could heal him. “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, son your sins are forgiven you.” And Jesus said, “I say to you arise, take up your bed and go to your house. Immediately he arose, took up his bed, and went out in the presence of them all.” (Mark 2:5,11,12). In (Matthew 8:5-130 a centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant who was paralyzed at his house. He said that Jesus didn’t need to come to his house, but just heal his servant from where He is now. “Then Jesus said to the centurion, Go your way, and as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And his servant was healed that same hour.” The key to prayers being answered is to become a Christian and daily love, obey and pray for God’s will to be done in our life.