This is the confidence that we have in our relationship with God: If we ask for anything in agreement with his will, He listens to us.  If we know that He listens to whatever we ask, we know that we have received what we asked from Him. (I John 5:14-15)

Mark Redner, pastor at The Oasis in the Ottawa Valley of Canada, made a statement on Friday night that stopped me in my tracks and gave me cause to pause.

Pastor Mark was opening up the Rising Fire Revival Camp in Thamesford, Ontario with a great message which included a list of shifts we need to make in our lives.

He pointed out how when it comes to prayer, we come to God with our list of needs, wants and desires and then posed this question:

“You know what’s on your list…but do you know what’s on God’s list?”

He followed it up with a supplementary question: “Have you ever asked God to tell you what’s on His list?”

Would it surprise you to hear that I was not the only one who had to push the pause button at that particular juncture in his talk?

You have to admit that this quite a shift we’re talking about here. Yet, he was, er, right on the mark with his pointed question.

For many Christians, prayer only goes one way—from earth to heaven. Yet, we have a Father in heaven who loves to communicate with us. He longs for moments when He can talk to us and share His heart with us.

If we stopped at the point of sharing our list with Him, then we do not give Him a chance to let us know the contents of His list, amen?

Mark Redner suggested that we simply ask God: “Father, what would you like me to pray for?” and then wait for Him to talk.

Once He reveals His list to us, now we are praying according to His will and when we pray according to His will, then every prayer is answered.

You may be surprised to discover that His prayer list is very different from yours! You may be praying according to what you think are your greatest needs, but His perspective may shock you.

When we were pressing in for healing three years ago after doctors discovered a huge polyp in my colon that was threatening to cause bowel obstruction, Sulojana was shocked to discover that God’s list called us to pray for a couple we had not even thought about for quite some time.

You see, a few years back, there had been a fall-out between us. Truth be known, there was still some residual anger and bitterness in our hearts.

Healing seemed to be our priority, but forgiving them was tops on the Father’s list. So, we prayed as He had directed. That prayer led to Him issuing a further directive: To contact them and initiate a process of reconciliation.

We did. We reconciled. Healing followed in an amazing way that we could have never imagined or orchestrated!

Dear DWOD friend, will you make this shift right now in your prayer life? You will be amazed how praying according to God’s list will change your life and accelerate you toward your destiny. You may also discover as we did that He will cross off items on your list in the process!