The other day I was looking through some old sermon notes of mine and came across a reference I had made about Charles Finney, who was one of the foremost evangelists of the nineteenth century. The foundation of his ministry was persevering prayer. In his Principles of Prayer Finney instructs the believer?
“There are three ways in which God’s will is revealed to men for their guidance in prayer.”
1. “By express promises or predictions in the Bible, that He will give or do certain things.”
2. “Sometimes God reveals His will by Providence. When He makes it clear that such and such events are about to take place, it is as much a revelation as if He had written it in His Word.”
3. “By His Spirit. When God’s people are at a loss (about) what to pray for, (but while also being) agreeable to His will, His Spirit often instructs them. When there is no particular revelation and Providence leaves it dark and we know not what to pray for as we ought, we are expressly told that the ‘Spirit also helps our infirmities’ and ‘the Spirit itself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.’”
The Word of God, the Providence of God, and the Spirit of God – all are supernatural aids to discerning the will of God in prayer.
