Luke 9:18–22 (ESV)
Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
This passage proves an important theory. The reason that Jesus wouldn’t let people (or demons) talk about His true identity is that it could disrupt His plan to be crucified. The second paragraph above says it all. Jesus is on a path to the cross.
Think about what that must have felt like. He’s living on death row. Jesus knows what’s coming—even more than people on death row. Yet somehow, He doesn’t let it get to Him until His arrest is imminent.
That’s focus.
Have you ever wished you knew your future? I have, but the more I think about it, the less attractive it looks. Everyone’s future includes good things and bad things. Could we handle the stress of knowing? Could we focus?
This affects how we pray. Our prayers are almost always about the future. We often ask for a certain future because we think we know what the “right” outcome should be.
This isn’t wrong. The Lord said, “Ask whatever you wish,” (John 15:7) but we’ve all learned the hard way that some of our prayers turn out to be misdirected. In retrospect, we see that we were asking for the wrong thing.
We don’t even know what our future should be. If we knew what it actually would be, we’d go nuts arguing with God.
That’s why long, spirit-directed prayers can be so powerful. Whatever your prayers are, find time to give them their due. It’s okay to ask God to give you the outcome you desire, but take time to seek His will.
This should not be some quick tag line at the end of a prayer. Seeking His will must be a serious and focused. It’s okay to ask for a sign, or simply ask God to make His will clear.
But be forewarned, you must be ready to accept whatever happens next. If you ask God to make His will clear, and He closes a door that you hoped He would open, then you have your answer. You asked for clarity and you got it. It’s a privilege to get a clear answer to prayer, even if it’s not what you hoped for.
Celebrate that.
