To be fully HUMAN — A Daily Reflection

 

1 John 5:14-15 NIV

 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.

 

When your son asks you if he can have a motorcycle, your instant response might be "No!". Visions of mangled bodies might flash through your head as you re-emphasize your negative response to his pleas.  In this situation, he didn’t ask according to your will. And, lacking your greater knowledge of what is really good for him, he doesn’t understand your response.

 

But when he asks if he can mow the lawn (dream on!), you answer with a resounding "Yes!"  Because what he asked was within your will. And, since he asked (I want to meet your son!), he also understands why this is in your will.

 

God responds to us in much the same way. He knows the big picture. He has a plan for each of our lives. His will for us is perfect. We may not understand His perfection, but we can know His will. We can know what He wants for us. We can know that we are precious to Him and that He wants the very best for us, just as we want the best for our own children.

 

We can understand what His will is by staying in His Word. The best way to get to know someone is to talk with him and find out what’s inside his head. The best way to get to know Jesus is through His Word, so He can talk to us, and by talking to Him through prayer, both of which help us to know, at least in part, what’s in His head. Read the Word and pray – a perfect two-way conversation!

 

When we know Him – really know Him – He begins to change us.  When He changes us, our requests begin to conform to His will.  When that happens, the third part of this thirteenth step of learning to live by faith is fulfilled – we can know that we have the requests that we have asked from Him.

 

Take the thirteenth step in learning to live by faith… Learn to determine His will for your life by maintaining an on-going two-way conversation – read your Bible and pray every day.  When you know His will, you’ll know your requests are within His will, and you’ll also know that you have those things that you ask from Him.