Praying for God’s Will

The most amazing thing about knowing God is, well, knowing God. The fact that we can know the One who created the universe more intimately than a spouse, sibling, or closest friend is a truth that would utterly transform us if we took the time to grasp it. Equally amazing is the idea that this God who runs the universe and orders the affairs of the entire world has a plan for each individual that belongs to him. As one who came to faith in the 70’s, I remember vividly Campus Crusade’s Four Spiritual Laws…especially that God loves me and has a wonderful plan for my life.

How do those of us who work in adult education communicate this truth to our students? Until recently, it’s been my erroneous assumption that adult students come to our campus already knowing God’s will for their lives. They are, after all, adults. At this point in their lives, they should have the faith, spouse, and vocation categories of God’s will pretty much nailed down, shouldn’t they?

 Maybe, but I think there’s another level of God’s will to which I haven’t given much thought until running across a prayer that the apostle Paul offered incessantly for the believers in his life…that they “may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9110, ESV). It seems to me that, at least in this portion of scripture, Paul takes more of a micro view of God’s will. He wants his friends to discern God’s will at such a level that it makes a difference in their daily footsteps with the Lord, right down to “bearing fruit in every good work.”

 I don’t want to minimize the importance of prayer for such important aspects of one’s life as faith, vocation, and who one marries. These potentially fragile categories of God’s will merit much prayer. What I’ve concluded, however, is that God’s will also takes place on a daily basis. What is God’s plan for our students today? What will they face? What kind of fruit-bearing work will they enjoy? In what ways will they learn about God?

 Those of us who work and teach on Belhaven’s adult campuses have been given remarkable opportunities to be involved in the lives of our students. Even more remarkable is the awesome responsibility to pray for them. Within the grandeur of God’s sweeping plans for them, let’s don’t forget to pray as Paul did – that God will give our students knowledge of his will in their walks today… that today’s works will bear fruit and they will know God better at the day’s end.