> I've heard some people say that you shouldn't pray for specific things you want, such as not letting your aunt die; you should basically only pray that "God's will should be done". This seems even stranger than praying for specific things, because how can God's will NOT be done? Surely all you're saying is "God, you're going to make things happen according to what you already had planned, and I don't know what that plan is, but, uh, just so you know, I'm cool with that." And again, I don't see any reason why it should be necessary to say this -- either from God's point of view or the person who is praying.


This is exactly the topic we have been discussing for the last few lectures in my Theology of the Spiritual Life class.

The word "will" (as in God's will) in the Bible actually exists in two different words in the original language, with different meanings. This shows us that there are actually three different components to the will of God, the decretive will, the preceptive / moral will, and the will of disposition.

The decretive will is God's decreed plan, made before the beginning of time and unable to be changed by mankind. This relates to the scope of history and our role in it. God either allows or causes events to happen in order to fulfill his purpose.

The preceptive / moral will is what God reveals to us in the commandments of scripture. It is His will for us to tell the truth, not steal, love one another, etc. But because of sin, this doesn't mean that we will act according to this will.

The will of disposition is what brings God pleasure. It may be more pleasing to God for me to go to a certain college rather than another, for example, if one college will prepare me more for what God wants of me.

Ideally, these three wills will be the same. What he commands in scripture is what we will do, and that will be what actually happens (i.e. fulfilling the plan of history). However, because of sin, they aren't. Imagine that a judge sentences a criminal whom he feels compassion towards. He must do his duty and punish the criminal, but it is his desire that he go free.


Specifically addressing your post; God's decreed will cannot NOT be done, while we CAN violate His will in regards to the other two aspects. As to how this specifically relates to prayers of supplication, I'm not sure if this is apparent. I will continue thinking about this too, unless it's clearer than I think.