First Requirement to Get What You Pray For

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission. But at the end of that verse, we’re told something else that’s also very important. We’re told why God the Father always heard the prayers of His Son, Jesus.

It says He was heard because of His reverent submission. That’s the first aspect of approaching God that we need to look at. How was this reverent submission of Jesus expressed?

The writer of Hebrews is referring to the time when Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is described in Matthew 26, verse 39. It says,

“He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt.’”

And then a little further on in verse 42 of the same chapter, it says,

“He went away again a second time, and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Thy will be done.’”

So, reverent submission consists in saying to the Father, “Not as I will, but as Thou wilt. Thy will be done.” It consists in renouncing our own will and embracing the will of God.

In Ephesians chapter 4, verses 22 through 24, Paul says this,

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

So, there are two selves: the old self, our nature before God changed us; the new self, what God wants to make us. Now, for the new self to express itself, we have to first put off the old self. That’s something *we* have to do. It’s not something that God does for us. And so, when we say, “Not my will, but Thine be done,” we’re putting off the old self—that’s “not my will.” And when we say, “But Thy will be done,” then we’re putting on the new self. That’s being changed or made new in the attitude of our minds.

We have to understand that the old self is a rebel, and he has no claims to God’s inheritance. The whole inheritance belongs by right to the new self. But what often happens in our lives as Christians is the old self, the rebel, rises up again and asserts his claim to what is only the rightful inheritance of the new self. So, to guard against that rebel claim, we have to say, as Jesus said, “Not my will, but Thine be done.”

Let’s go on a little more with this relationship between the old self and the new. If God were to answer all the prayers of the old self in every one of us, the universe would be in chaos. Let me give you just one or two simple examples. Two nations are at war with one another. The Christians in each nation are praying, “God, give *our* nation the victory.” How can God possibly do that? But you see, God isn’t committed to do that. God *is* committed to answer the prayers of the new self, but He’s not committed to cater to that old rebel, the old self, who just keeps asserting his own will.

So, when we pray for anything, we always need to ask ourselves, “Am I praying for this thing because *I* want it, or because God wants it?” It makes a great deal of difference. If it’s because *I* want it, my prayers may not be answered. But if it’s because God wants it, then my prayers will be answered.

There are certain areas where people habitually bring their requests and their petitions to God. For instance, people may pray to be healed of sickness, or they may pray for a financial need to be met. They may pray for God to send them money. Every time we find ourselves praying that kind of prayer, we need to ask ourselves, “Am I praying for healing because *I* want to be healed, or because God wants me healed? Am I praying for financial prosperity because it’s what *I* want, or because it’s what God wants?” It’ll make a great deal of difference in our whole approach to God if we settle that issue.

I remember once, some years back, a woman came to me and asked me to pray for her son, about 12 years old, who was in hospital with a disease which was diagnosed as incurable. She asked me to go and pray for her son in the hospital, and I was perfectly ready to do it. But without really thinking, I simply said to her, “Have you surrendered your son to the Lord?” And when I asked her that simple question, she became hysterical. She thought I was trying to tell her that her son was going to die. I didn’t have that in mind. I simply wanted to point out to her that as long as she was pressing *her* will, the will of God really couldn’t come to pass, and that as long as she kept her hand, by her will, over her son, God’s hand couldn’t really reach out and touch her son.

As long as we are trying to force our own will through, we do not make room for the will of God. Now, when you think about renouncing your own will and embracing the will of God, there are some things you need to remember. Let me suggest three things you need to bear in mind. First of all, God loves you more than you love yourself. Second, God understands you better than you understand yourself. And third, God wants only the best for you.

Are you prepared to say, “Not as I will, but as Thou wilt”? When you truly yield to God’s will, you will discover that it is what the Bible says it is: good, acceptable, and perfect. Remember this: prayer is not a way for you to get God to do what *you* want. Prayer is a way for you to become an instrument for God to do what *He* wants.