Whatever, part 3
While we reflect on the subject of praying for “whatever,” there’s something beneath this that we should consider as well.
The first week of this series, we reviewed the “ask for whatever!”-passages and saw that, first of all, this is an invitation to bring everything in our hearts, minds, and lives to Jesus.
Last week we looked more carefully at the verses that seem to suggest that we can ask for and get whatever we want. We discovered qualifiers. Specifically, these “whatever”-requests should be made according to Scripture, in Jesus’ Name and for His glory, in obedience to Him, in love, and for the faith of those involved. In fact, if we are asking merely “to spend it on our passions” (Jam 4:3), we can expect to not get any of that from God.
But beneath these issues is a more fundamental one:
What is the relationship between the “good” which God says He is working, “His Will” which we pray “is done on earth as in heaven,” and our “sanctification” which we are told is Christ’s primary goal in us?
First, let’s define these things.
Good – This means, Good in God’s eyes and also Good to us. Somehow there’s a Venn Diagram out there where one circle is, God’s good desires for all of us, and the second circle is, our “felt needs.” The overlapping part is “good.” This is what we desire which is also what God wants to give us—all that God has provided, which we also know we need.
God’s Will – God’s will is, from God’s point-of-view, what is truly best for everyone in every situation. Also known as “His perfect will.” And, “Righteousness.” Also known as “All that, if we stopped for a half-sec and thought about it, we would also wish were the way things were on earth instead of injustice, deceit, corruption, etc.”
Sanctification – This is a ten-dollar word for this: We want to be closer to God—God wants to be closer to us. He wants us to be more His, to give Him more of our hearts. And He wants to be more ours, to be our Shepherd as we are His people. “Sanctification” is what Holy Spirit is working on and what we ourselves are praying for.
The relationship between God’s Will, What is Good, and Sanctification is… these are all pointing at the same thing.
What is God’s will, the purposes for which He is at work? Well, it is certainly the same thing as the “Good” that He is working all things together for. And what, specifically is that good, that good purpose? “This is the will of God, your sanctification…” (1Thess 4:3) Or, “to be filled with the knowledge of His glory.” (Hab 2:14)
God wills for us to grow in holiness—that is, to be more His. And the good that God is working all things for is that we might… be more His. And God’s Will for which we pray is that we might… be more His.
The good for which we pray will be found in a stronger relationship with Jesus. God’s Will for which we pray, will happen on earth when His people live in a stronger relationship with Jesus. A stronger relationship with Jesus is God’s Good Will.
As we belong more and more to Jesus, we will see that all things are, in fact, working… Good. And the more we belong to Jesus, the more we will see that every part of God’s Will is… Good.
These three are nested together. That which we look at and declare, “Good!” contains within it all that we recognize as “God’s Will,” which contains within it the lived-reality of what Scripture means when it calls us to “rest our souls in Him.”
So as we pray for “whatever”, let us remember: that what we ourselves most truly want is going to be found in exactly what God Himself most truly wants for us.
There is a sense in which, praying from my true heart, and praying for God’s will, are not opposed. God’s true heart for me is the best I could hope for. The best I could hope for is precisely what God is working on. God’s true heart and His Sovereign Will and my best life and self are most truly understood to be pretty much the same thing, when we take God's view on this subject.
It is a feature of our God’s wisdom and love that His Will and our Holiness and what will be Good are the same.
Father God, we give You praise and thanks for Who You Are. Truly there is no god like You—and there is none other than You! You alone are holy. You alone are good. Your steadfast love never ceases, never fails, is ever new. It comes to us in our lives. It comes to us in Your Word. It comes to us in Christ Jesus. It lives with us in Holy Spirit. You are ours; we are Yours.
And this is a good beyond what we could ask or think—a good in which we shall find “all in all,” and “fullness of joy,” and “pleasures forevermore,” and so much more. Help us to pray bold prayers and rejoice loudly in Your provision. Help us to remember where is hidden all our heart’s desire. Help us to carry on as Your people—people who know You. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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