November 6, 2005

Subject: Question about Prayer and the Will of God

Name: Norbert Maposa

Message: Greetings in the name of Jesus our Lord. My name is Norbert Maposa and I am a student with you (at the Tzemach Institute). Yesterday I had a debate with my Pastor on prayer and the will of God. The pastor was saying that when you are praying you must not use the words, "Lord if it be your will" because the moment you use these words you are showing a lack of faith. He said the will of God should be broken down into the general will of God revealed in scripture and the specific will of God which he reveals to those in tune with his spirit. So when we pray, e.g. for a sick person and we don't know the specific will of God in that situation, we must declare the general will of God as declared in scripture, which is that they should be healed. When Jesus said that your will be done in the garden its not because he didn't know the specific will of God, he is just declaring the will of God for him at that time. There is no situation in the bible where someone who didn't know the specific will of God said "Thy will be done." I would like to ask whether such teaching is true to the bible? That if a man says in prayer, "IF IT BE YOUR WILL," this means they don't have faith and God won't answer that prayer.

Thank you

SHALOM

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Norbert Maposa,

You pastor makes a valid point and is correct concerning prayer for healing. When we concur with the scripture that "God is love" we are in essence saying that He does not choose to love, but is love and, therefore, He loves. We can also say, therefore, that concerning all of His attributes as described in the fruits of the Holy Spirit; these are characteristics of His nature and He does not choose to be them, He is them. Worshipping God and, in the process, basking in His life giving presence, is a conducive environment for us to receive His healing. For the person who needs healing we can pray for their lives to be aligned with the will of God and that they may be free to worship Him. The awesome thing about God is that He knows exactly where we are, and even if we are not praying exactly according to His will, He knows our heart's desires and motives, and lovingly over looks our short comings (for which I am personally continually grateful).

Blessings from the Tzemach Institute for Biblical Studies,