We’re continuing to glean some highlights from Evangelist Steve Pettit’s free booklet, How to Pray 15 Minutes a Day, based on an easy-to-remember acrostic:
So much of prayer is pursuing the will of God. If God has a purpose, He must have a plan. That truth should be foremost in our minds, so when we pray, we’re not trying to get our will done in heaven but God’s will done on earth. Jesus said to pray in the following way: “Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:9– 10). We need to direct our prayers toward God’s will. “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us” (1 John 5:14). Jesus declared, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find” (Matt. 7:7).
God expects us to pursue Him, and He reveals His will to those who are looking for it. Consequently, a great deal of prayer is yielding to God’s sovereign plan for our lives. We must be willing to yield at least two areas of our lives to God through prayer.
We Yield to God When We Don’t Know What to Do
A seventeen-year-old young man is about to graduate from high school. What will he do next year? His decision will affect 32 the direction of his entire life. He must pursue and seek God’s direction and will. A few years later, the same fellow wants to get married. Next to getting saved, marriage is the most important decision of your life. You’ll live with Jesus for eternity, but you’ll live with your spouse for the rest of your life. So what must he do? He seeks God’s direction to find His will in marriage. We have to yield to God to find out what to do. This truth is particularly true when we face struggles and burdens. We have a desperate need for relief, yet we can’t just give up and quit.
Continue to read this chapter in the free booklet, How to Pray 15 Minutes a Day!
