A Prayer to Prosper
July 1, 2023 2023-07-01 8:02A Prayer to Prosper
Revlee A prayer to prosper.
1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (NIV)
The key to our passage today is “according to His will.” The will of God cannot be contained within specific things we consider to be good. In the end, the will of God is full communion with His creation. This is made possible as we are purified from that which is not of Him so that what is of Him does not hinder the Holy Spirit in us from moving us back into His presence.
Most of us already know this, but the priority of our prayer tends to be our desire for a specific thing we perceive to be beneficial more than a spiritual union with God.
We pray for a job, but we don’t know if the environment of that job will facilitate our communion with God or hinder it. Perhaps, things will be so great that we praise God and commune more with Him in that praise. But it could be things are so great we take Him for granted and stop praying. It could be we learn to put our trust in the job more than God who gave it. We simply do not know.
Many times, our desires and prayers form our prayers outside of God’s will. For example, It is God’s will that we prosper. But financial prosperity that comes with great worry and stress could keep our souls from prospering. Soul prosperity however requires trials and tribulations. Only God knows the combination of ease and struggle necessary for our spiritual development into communion. Both ease and struggle can be blessings or curses depending upon the strength of our spirit on that day and in that season. However, we are poor in spirit meaning there is no way that we can determine for ourselves how much ease we need and how much struggle.
So, how do we pray?
We pray with the desires of our hearts that are godly with the understanding those same desires are purified through struggle. We ask God for the blessings we desire such as a job, a child, healing, and a friend. We also pray for strength to endure and find contentment if these do not come. This prayer keeps communion as our highest priority and will work to purify our hearts to receive more of His goodness.
Prayer: Lord, help me make my highest priority communion with you in all my requests. Amen.
