Abiding in God's Wil

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;- Colossians 1:9

The Israelites in I Samuel 8 came to Samuel to ask for a king because the children of Prophet Samuel were taking bribe. But they did not accuse themselves of giving bribe; after all, there cannot be a receiver without a giver. If the children of Samuel were guilty of receiving bribe, then the people were also guilty of giving bribe.

The elders of Israel demanded for a king to rule them; they said they wanted to be like other nations and Samuel was grieved. God had to console Samuel that the people had not rejected Samuel but Him, their Jehovah God who brought them out of the land of slavery. Therefore, God permitted them to have a king; He even chose the king for them, even though it was not His perfect will for them.

What do you do when someone has already made up his mind? What will a parent do when the child comes only to inform the parent when he/she has already printed an invitation card to get married? What could the parents of Samson do when he had already made up his mind to marry an unbeliever? There are many things people are doing that looks normal, but God is not involved. The fact that God said Samuel should hearken to the voice of the people did not mean God approved their behaviour. The Israelites rejected God and they walked in God's allowable/permissive will, not God's perfect will for their lives. No wonder the Bible admonishes us in the book of Colossians to understand the will of God.

The way the people of the world think is different from the way God thinks but it is only by walking in God's way that safety is guaranteed. Apostle Paul was a man who was once injurious to the gospel; he persecuted the Body of Christ and wasted it. But when he discovered the will of God, nothing could stop him from the road God mapped out for him. Paul did not allow any persecution to hinder him from going the road God has planned for him; even when it looked dangerous and risky.

In Acts 14, he was beaten to the extent that they thought he was dead and he was drawn outside the city. Even when he woke up, he was not deterred; he still continued his ministry.

There is something about the will of God that works more than prayers. When you are in the centre of God's will, everything begins to work out well for you. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah challenged Baal worshipers. With the simple prayer he prayed, fire came down and it was heard all over the land. God honoured the prayer of Elijah because he was in the centre of God's will. When you are in the centre of God's will, you will become bolder; and the bolder you are, the more you get positive result.

Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me oh Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their hearts back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell.... - 1 Kings 18:36-38

The secret of Elijah's result was not because he prayed any special or long prayer, but it was because he was in the centre of God's will.