How To Pray About Something Scripture Doesn’t Specifically Cover

TODAY'S TEACHING

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

 —Matthew 6:33

There are days I wish the Bible had an appendix in the back called, “Specific Answers for Daniel’s Current Problem.”

Take the job. Don’t take the job. Move. Stay where you are. This person is right for you. Walk away from that deal.

Wouldn’t that be convenient?

Instead, Scripture gives us something deeper, though admittedly less convenient when you’re standing in the middle of a decision and would really like God to just spell it out.

The Bible is very clear about a lot of things. We know how God calls us to live, how to treat people, what sin looks like, what forgiveness looks like, what love requires, where our priorities belong.

Then life hands us a question that isn’t printed there.

Should I take this opportunity?

Should I sell the house?

Is this a good time to start the business?

Do I keep waiting, or am I just scared to move?

You can flip through pages for an hour and never find, “Yes, take the accounting job in Denver.”

That used to bother me more than it does now. Not because I suddenly have every decision figured out. I don’t.

I think some of the deeper work God does in us happens right there, in the space where the answer isn’t obvious and we have to come to Him without a verse that removes all uncertainty.

There’s a prayer I return to in those situations.

“God, this is what I want. You know I want it. But if it isn’t right for me, if the timing is wrong, or if I’m asking for something that will eventually pull me somewhere You don’t want me, please don’t give it to me.”

Easy sentence to read. Much harder when the thing in question is something you’ve already pictured happening.

A man I knew named Marcus ran into this when a friend invited him into a business deal.

The friend was smart. The numbers weren’t crazy. There was enough potential that Marcus started thinking several steps ahead before anything had even been signed.

He had a yellow legal pad on his desk with numbers scratched all over it, arrows going nowhere, three possible business names circled at the top. One night he was still working through projections close to midnight, wearing the same sweatshirt he’d had on since dinner, reheated coffee sitting beside him that he’d forgotten to drink anyway.

He was already in it emotionally. That matters.

Because once we get excited enough about something, prayer can quietly change from, “God, what do You want?” to, “God, please make this work.” They sound similar if we’re not paying attention.

Marcus prayed about the business. At least that’s what he told himself.

His wife listened to him talk about it for a few days and finally asked, “Are you actually asking God if you should do this, or are you asking Him to help you do what you already decided?”

He didn’t like the question. Which was probably a clue.

He didn’t storm off or have some dramatic spiritual breakthrough. He just sat there, annoyed, because deep down he knew she had found the sore spot. A couple of days later his prayer changed.

“God, I still want this. I really do. But if I’m about to tie myself to something I shouldn’t, stop me.”

That’s a different prayer. The deal eventually collapsed. Marcus wasn’t relieved. He was mad.

For a while he wondered whether he had been overly cautious and talked himself out of something good. Months later he found out the man he was going into business with had financial problems Marcus didn’t know about.

Okay. That time the explanation eventually showed up. Sometimes it doesn’t. That part is harder to write about because it doesn’t make a very satisfying story.

Sometimes the relationship ends and years later you still don’t completely understand why God allowed it. Sometimes the opportunity disappears. Sometimes you prayed, tried to be wise, moved carefully, and the whole thing still went sideways. No hidden lesson arrives six months later with a neat bow on it.

That happens too.

Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Seek first.

That sounds obvious until we notice how often we seek the outcome first and then bring God in afterward.

We ask, “Can I make this work?” That isn’t always the best question. Maybe ask, “Should this even be mine?” Because something can work and still be wrong for this season of your life.

It can make money.

It can help people.

It can look impressive.

It can even involve ministry.

None of that automatically means God told you to do it.

I’ve had to learn that “good idea” and “God’s direction” are not interchangeable phrases. They overlap sometimes. Not always.

You can say yes to something worthwhile and still spread yourself so thin that the things God already put in front of you begin getting the leftovers.

You can date a decent person who simply isn’t somebody you should build a life with.

You can start something for good reasons and discover three months later that good reasons weren’t enough to sustain it.

This is where surrender gets uncomfortable. Because surrender is easy when God’s answer matches ours.

“God, I want Your will,” sounds very spiritual when we are fairly certain His will is going to be yes. Try praying it when you’re afraid the answer might be no. Different feeling.

Our emotions don’t help much once they’ve fallen in love with an outcome. We start noticing things. 

A person says exactly the sentence we needed to hear.

Confirmation.

A random door opens.

Confirmation.

We read something that seems connected.

There it is.

Maybe.

Or maybe we are looking very hard for evidence that supports what we already want. I’ve done enough of that to be suspicious of myself sometimes.

Scripture still matters enormously here, even when it doesn’t mention our exact situation. God’s Word gives the decision walls. It tells us what cannot be right.

It exposes motives we would rather leave alone.

It shows us what wisdom, humility, patience, honesty, responsibility, generosity, and obedience look like when they’re actually lived and not merely talked about.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Notice that it doesn’t say every path will come with flashing arrows. Sometimes you pray and still don’t feel ninety-nine percent certain.

I know Christians who think uncertainty must mean they haven’t heard God correctly. I’m not convinced that’s always true.

There are decisions where you pray, search Scripture, get wise counsel, check your motives as best you can, and eventually you have to choose.

You move. Not recklessly. Not pretending you heard an audible voice when you didn’t. You simply take the next step with an open hand and tell God, “If I’m wrong, redirect me.” That is faith too.

One thing I have become more careful about is asking God to rescue plans I never really asked Him about in the beginning.

We can get ourselves deeply involved in something, become exhausted, and then pray, “God, why aren’t You helping me with this?” That question may be legitimate.

There is another one worth asking though. “Did You ask me to start this?” I don’t particularly enjoy that question.

There have been things I wanted God to fix that, looking back, I probably rushed into. He is merciful about that. God knows we’re learning.

He can redirect bad decisions, redeem wasted time, and bring wisdom out of something we wish we had handled differently. I’m grateful for that because otherwise some of us would be in real trouble.

Still, I’d rather ask earlier now. Before signing. Before announcing. Before emotionally decorating the future.

“God, is this actually from You?” And then wait long enough that the question has a chance to bother you.

If the answer appears to be yes, move. If you keep sensing restraint, don’t bulldoze over it because you’ve already told three people your plan.

If you don’t know yet, maybe you don’t know yet. We are allowed to be there for a while.

There’s another prayer I’ve found useful, and I don’t always enjoy praying this one either: “God, don’t let me have something just because I want it badly.” That’s surrender without makeup on.

There are things we want that are fine. There are things we want that God may eventually give us. There are other things where, if we knew what He knew, we might be grateful later that He didn’t answer the way we begged Him to.

Maybe. We don’t always get to know.

So when Scripture does not contain your exact question, don’t panic and don’t start inventing signs because silence is tough. Start with what God has already said.

Check the desire.

Check the motive.

Give the excitement a little time to cool off.

Pray something honest enough that God is allowed to disagree with you.

Then make the wisest decision you can. You may still feel nervous. You may still wonder. That does not automatically mean you missed God.

Sometimes obedience looks less like having absolute certainty and more like walking carefully, staying teachable, and being willing to turn around if God shows you that you’re headed the wrong way.

And maybe that’s the part we should keep coming back to. We don’t need God to approve everything we want. We need to want Him enough that He can say no to something we really wanted and we're still willing to stay close.

I really wish that were easier for us.

Some days it is.

Some days it isn’t.

The good news is we can always trust that God loves us and only wants the very best for us. So, whatever His answers to our prayers are, we must follow His direction because His will is perfect.

If this resonates with you, here's a short prayer you can say today:

"Dear God, I bring You what I want, and I mean what I’m asking for, but I don’t want my desire to become so loud that I stop hearing You. If I’m pushing something because I’ve already pictured how good it could be, interrupt me, even if I’m annoyed about it for a while... I’d rather be corrected than carried away by my own excitement. I trust You with yes, no, and not yet. God, help me actually mean that. Amen."

God bless you! 

Your brother in Christ,

Daniel
Daily Effective Prayer

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