“If It Be Thy Will”

Me and My Big Mouth: Your Answer is Right Under Your Nose
by Joyce Meyer

(Page 3 of 3)

…You do not have, because you do not ask.

[Or] you do ask [God for them] and yet fail to receive, because you ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. Your intention is [when you get what you desire] to spend it in sensual pleasures.

James 4:2,3

I once heard it said that a person operating in faith will never pray, “if it be Thy will.” There was no other explanation given; therefore as a young Christian I took the statement to an extreme.

In the same way, I heard that I could have what I said, but nobody told me that I needed to grow up. Perhaps someone did say it and I was so full of myself that I did not hear, but I was 11 definitely out of balance. I wanted what I wanted, and I thought I had found a new way to get it.

There are some things in the Word of God that are so clear that we never have to pray, “if it be Thy will.”

Salvation is a good example.

In 1 Timothy 2:3,4 the Bible states that it is God's desire that all should be saved and come to a knowledge of Him. I would never pray, “Dear Father in heaven, I ask in Jesus' name that You save _____, if it be Thy will.” I already know it is His will to save that person.

James 4:2 says we have not because we do not ask. Verse 3 says that sometimes we ask and yet fail to receive because we ask with wrong purpose and evil, selfish motives. I realize that sometimes it is hard to believe that of ourselves, but, nonetheless, it is true. It is especially true of the believer who has not allowed the purification process of God to take place in his life. In that state, a person has God in him, but he also has an abundance of “self” in him.

I believe that in those instances when what we are asking for is not clearly spelled out in the Word, and we are not positive that we have heard from God about the issue, it is wise and an act of true submission to pray, “if it be Thy will.”

I recall an instance many years ago when my husband Dave and I were vacationing in a lovely spot in Georgia. We were exceptionally tired, and God had made a way for us to take some time off and rebuild our energies. We were enjoying the place so much that we began planning to bring our children back there the following year and take an extended vacation. We were full of our plans and excitedly talking about them. I began to “declare” (make a verbal confession), “We are coming back here next year, I and our entire family will be blessed with a vacation at this place.”

Suddenly the Holy Spirit spoke James 4:15 to me: You ought instead to say, If the Lord is willing, we shall live and we shall do this or that [thing]. As I began later to study this Scripture I also noticed verse 16: But as it is, you boast [falsely] in your presumption and your self-conceit. All such boasting is wrong.

There is a difference between faith and confidence, and foolishness and presumption. Unless that difference is discerned, the spiritual life becomes a tragedy instead of a triumph.

I do not personally feel that I am weak in faith if I pray, “Lord, I want this thing - if it is Your will, if it fits in with Your plan, if it is Your best for me, and if it is Your timing.”

Proverbs 3:7 says, Be not wise in your own eyes… I have taken this verse to heart and believe it has saved me a great deal of agony.

There was a time in my life when I thought I knew everything and if everyone would listen to me, we would all get along just fine. I have now discovered that I do not know anything at all, at least not compared to what God knows.

We must resist the temptation to play “Holy Ghost, Jr.” Instead, we must let God be God.

Balance, Wisdom, Prudence, Common Sense, and Good Judgment

Every prudent man deals with knowledge, but a [self-confident] fool exposes and flaunts his folly. Proverbs 13:16

It seems to me from my twenty years of observation in the Kingdom of God, that people and teachers have a difficult time with balance. The doctrine concerning the power of words, the mouth, confession, calling those things that be not as though they are, and speaking things into existence, is one example where I have seen people get off into extremes. It seems that the flesh wants to live in the ditch on one side of the road or the other, but it has a difficult time staying in the middle of the highway between the lines of safety.

Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour.

1 Peter 5:8

Extremes are actually the devil's playground. If he cannot get a believer to totally ignore a truth and live in deception, his next tactic will be to get him so one-sided and out of balance with that truth that he is no better off than he was before. Sometimes he is even worse off than he was.

Wisdom is a central theme of God's Word. As a matter of fact, there is no real victory without it.

In Webster's II New College Dictionary wisdom is defined as “1. Understanding what is true, right, or lasting. 2. Good judgment: common sense.” I have dealt with many people over the years, both lay people and those in full-time ministry, who simply do not use any common sense.

Wisdom does not operate in extremes. Proverbs 1:1-4 says that wisdom is full of prudence, and prudence is good management.

In this same dictionary, prudence is defined as “careful management: ECONOMY.” The adjective form, prudent, is defined as “using good judgment or common sense in handling practical matters.” I believe we might say that wisdom is a combination of balance, common sense, and good judgment.

A teacher of God's Word has to be responsible to explain himself enough to be reasonably sure that believers in all stages of spiritual growth understand him. To make one blanket statement that “you can have what you say,” without any explanation, is dangerous to the immature Christian. I believe that as teachers called to train up the children of God, it is our responsibility to realize that not everyone listening to us understands that statement to mean that he can have what he says, if what he is saying is in line with God's Word and will for him at that particular time in his life.

People who are carnal listen to every message they hear with a “carnal ear.” As they grow spiritually, they can listen to the same message and hear something totally different from what they heard the first time. The message probably was not in error to begin with, but a little more explanation could have prevented the “baby” Christian from living in the ditch for a few years before he learned how to stay in the middle of the road.

Most teachers have a particular “bent” to their teaching - and rightfully so. It has to do with the call of God on their lives. Some are called to exhort and keep the children of God cheered up, to keep them zealous and pressing forward. Others may be called to teach faith, and still others prosperity. There are those who are called to teach almost exclusively on finances. Many have been called to teach and demonstrate healing.

I find that when people are called to do something, they are so full of what God has put in them, if they are not careful they can become lopsided. They can begin to act as if what they are teaching is the only important thing in the Bible. It may not be intentional, but once again I feel that it is our responsibility to make sure that we are presenting our material in a balanced way, remembering the “babes in Christ” who only know what we tell them and nothing more.

I believe very strongly in the power of confession, I believe we should speak to our mountains, and I believe that in many, if not most, instances the answer to our problems is definitely right under our nose (in our mouth). But I also believe very strongly in the maturity of the believer, the crucifixion of the fleshly nature, dying to selfishness, the necessity for obedience and submission to the Holy Spirit.

In other words, I am not trying to teach you something to just help you get out of trouble or to get everything you want. I am I hopeful of helping you learn how to cooperate with the Holy | Spirit, to see the will of God accomplished in your life.

Copyright © 1997 by Joyce Meyer

About the Author

JOYCE MEYER has been teaching the Word of God since 1976 and in full-time ministry since 1980. She is the bestselling author of more than fifty inspirational books, including How to Hear from God, Knowing God Intimately, and Battlefield of the Mind. She has also released thousands of teaching cassettes and a complete video library. Joyce's Enjoying Everyday Life radio and television programs are broadcast around the world, and she travels extensively conducting conferences.