Father Knows Best: The Power of Prayer

By Rev. Tim Pauls

When it comes to the Lord’s Prayer, my old sinful nature especially grates against the Third Petition: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The reason is simple: I know what I want. I know what my will is, and I usually think that my will is a pretty good idea. Even when I know it’s not, I still want my way.

No big surprise, but the good and gracious will of God is often different than what I want, and He’s always right. This makes me wrong, which annoys my sinful nature to no end. It means repenting, echoing the Savior, and praying, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” It means trusting that the Lord is in fact working all things for my good, even when my plans are getting crushed to a fine powder, and maybe I’m getting crushed too.

Spare no tears for my Old Adam; he’s got to be drowned every day. Instead, here’s a good reason to rejoice: prayer isn’t about what we want. It’s about God’s will for us.

The Lord wants to hear us pray. He delights to hear our prayers so much that He commands us to pray. He portrays prayer as a father ready to hear his child ask, ready to give him all sorts of good things: “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke 11:11–13).

Kids ask their parents for a lot of things. Some of them are sure things, because parents have promised to do certain things, so if a child asks for food, he’s going to get to eat when the next meal rolls around, if not before. Some requests aren’t good for the child at all; if a child asks to play with a grizzly bear cub on a barely frozen lake, the answer is going to be “No.” Parents don’t exist to grant every wish. They’re called to do what is best for the child. Sometimes that means saying “Yes,” and sometimes that means saying “No.”

We pray to “Our Father who art in heaven,” and Father knows best. He’s already demonstrated His love for you by giving His Son to die on the cross for you; and now that you’re His child for Jesus’ sake, He promises to provide all that you need and work all things for your good. That doesn’t mean it’s what you want, but it’s what’s best for you. How do you know what’s best for you? How do you know what His good and gracious will is for you? It’s simple: you find it in His Word.

So when people ask me to explain prayer, here’s what I say: prayer is praying the promises of God back to Him. Like children, we call upon our Father in heaven and say, “You promised!”

So where God has made a promise, you can pray confidently. You can pray for healing, help, daily bread, deliverance—all sorts of things—with the certainty that the Lord will provide. (Note, however, that He may not answer on your schedule, since He hasn’t promised to.) You can pray confidently for forgiveness, knowing that the Lord showers you with it and tells you exactly where: in His means of grace. Where God has forbidden something, you don’t have a prayer. Asking Him to bless sinful plans, excuse immorality, or gratify selfish desires is pointless. Demanding that He change His will to conform to yours is too. Your Father in heaven desires what is best for you, not slavery and death.

Where God has made no promise, you can still pray. You just don’t know what the answer will be. You can pray about going to a certain college, going to a dance with a special someone, whatever. It might happen. It might not. The Lord hasn’t made a promise about it, and you can’t hold Him to promises He hasn’t made. But you can know that He’s promised to work all things for your good.

See how that works? Where you have God’s promise, you can pray with certainty because He always keeps His promise. Where God’s Word speaks against your will, He’s right, and this Father doesn’t give His kids harmful things. (If you still get what you want, it’s your scheming, not His blessing.) Where God’s Word is silent, you can still pray. You just don’t know what the answer will be.That’s why “Thy will be done” is such a comforting prayer, because the Lord’s will for you is always gracious and good.

A common temptation is to believe that the power of prayer lies in us. You’ll hear—often from people on early morning TV—that God will answer your prayer because you had enough faith or enough people praying. But God’s promises don’t depend on you. They depend on Him, and He always keeps His promises. This is great news! For Jesus’ sake, God keeps His promises to you, even if you’re the only one praying and your faith is weak. Even if you forget to pray, God is still faithful to you.

The power of prayer lies in the Lord, not in us.That’s good, because we’re fickle sinners with a will that wars against God. The Father never changes but promises to work for your good for Jesus’ sake because at Gethsemane, just before the cross, the Son prayed, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39). The promise was kept. The Father’s will was done.The Son died for you.

For His sake, you’re God’s beloved child, and He listens for your prayers.

Rev. Tim Pauls is the Associate Pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Boise, Idaho, and the editor of Higher Things Magazine.