Standing Perfect In God's Will by Pastor Dolapo Lawal: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Recap: The Context of Asking in Jesus' Name

In John 14:13, Jesus says, "Whatsoever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son." There is a clause to this. Looking at the context in John 14:10, we see the works of Jesus — and the works of Jesus are two things: salvation, and the gift of the person of the Holy Spirit.

John 14:16 — "I will pray the Father, and he will give you another Helper, that he may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth." He says, "I will not leave you as orphans. I will come to you." So asking in Jesus' name means asking in the context of what Jesus came to do — not asking in covetousness, but asking that the Father may be glorified, which means asking in the context of doing the works of Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians 3:21-22, we see that all things are yours. But what is "all things"? The context reveals it is to serve the mission of Christ, not to serve the desires of the self. James says in James 4:3 — you ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Asking amiss is asking for something only about you. If your prayer point is only earthly and sensual, it may as well be demonic. James 3:15 — this wisdom does not descend from above, but it is earthly, sensual, and demonic.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits. You are yielding to the Spirit of God. That is the texture of prayer that enters the will of God.

The Key: To Know God's Will, Pray for It

If you know what God wants to do in your life per time — you have hit the jackpot. That is what Paul prayed. Not for blessings, not for healing, not for prosperity in isolation — but for the knowledge of God's will.

Colossians 1:9 — for this reason, we also, since the day we heard of 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. When we heard of your faith towards Jesus and your love for all saints, we do not cease to pray for you — that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will.

For the first two years as a church, the only prayer prayed corporately was the prayer of Ephesians 1:15-19 — that the eyes of your understanding will be enlightened. Because a lot of people don't know that what God wants to give is divine, but their requests are earthly. So the first thing to pray for is not blessings — it is to know what God's plan is. Once you know, finish.

You don't have a having problem; you have a knowing-what-you-have problem. And what God does about that is open your eyes to see. That is why you pray in the spirit.

The Role of Praying in Tongues

If you prayed Ephesians 1:15-19 for 21 days — one hour every day — you would be afraid of the kind of man you would become. The weight of spiritual sensitivity that comes is significant.

Colossians 4:12 — Epaphras, a bondservant of God, always striving fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God. The way to stand perfect and complete in God's will is prayer. The prayer Epaphras prayed is the same prayer Paul prayed in Colossians 1:9.

Praying in tongues is praying in the Spirit. The Spirit helps our infirmities, for we know not what to pray as we ought. As we begin to pray in tongues, we are praying what the Spirit knows, not what we know. As we continue, we begin to hear words — impressions, directions, specific things that shift the prayer from guessing to knowing.

However, this is not only through tongues. Moses waited for the counsel of God. Daniel meditated on the word. God directed many in the Old Testament without tongues. You can also wait on the Lord in prayer, in the word. But praying in the Spirit accelerates spiritual sensitivity.

A Worked Example: Daniel and the 70 Years

Jeremiah 29:10-13 — the Lord says, after 70 years be accomplished at Babylon, I will visit you and perform my good word towards you, causing you to return. Then you shall call upon me, and you shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. You shall seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

Daniel 9:2 — Daniel understood by books — by the word of Jeremiah — that 70 years would be accomplished in the desolation of Jerusalem. So Daniel, upon reading the word of God, began to pray. He did not say, "God already said it so I don't need to pray." He prayed into the word he had received. That is how standing perfect in God's will works: you receive a word, you pray the word into fulfillment.

In John 2, at the wedding at Cana, there was no wine. If God had not opened Mary's eyes, her prayer might have been, "God, provide wine." But instead she went to Jesus and said, "They have no wine." And he said, "What do you want me to do?" The answer to the prayer was: go and fill the six water pots with water, and carry that water to the chief. The moment it was carried, it became wine. The answer is obedience to the instruction — not the prayer that gives the instruction to God.

God Cannot Mismanage Your Life

Some struggle with yielding to God's will because of a trust problem. But consider: do you know how many things are happening subconsciously in your body that God designed — things you know nothing about? If God is paying attention to your subconscious, is it wise to go and tell that God how to run your life?

Psalm 23:3 — he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. People know that you gave him your life. God cannot mismanage your life because it would be bad PR for his name. He leads you in the path of righteousness because your life is a statement about who he is.

That is why he says, my son, give me thine heart and let thine eyes observe my ways. But many struggle with their life with God instead of surrendering to him.

The Perfect Will of God: A Life That Is Beyond You

Peter had a fishing business. Jesus gave him a boat full of fish — not as the destination, but as the invitation. And once he received it, Jesus said, "If you love me, feed my sheep." Peter was looking for fish to make himself fine. Jesus said: my will for you is that you have to feed others to be fine. If you pick fishing over apostleship, you will look okay, but you will miss God's will for your life. Just imagine Peter leaving apostleship to enter the fishing business.

Revelation 21:10 — the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb are on the foundation of the eternal city. That is the weight of the calling Peter would have walked away from.

I declare: Father, let prophetic mantles rest upon your people. For someone, the word coming to your heart strongly in this season is El Roi — the God that sees me. The place where you have labored, you will not leave empty-handed. Just as Hagar did not leave empty-handed — she left with a seed of Abraham — you also will not leave empty-handed. You will leave with something connected to the divine. If God is telling you to move, it is time. I see the Egyptians putting gold on you.