January 22, 2025 • 19 mins
An episode of Kathryn Kuhlman's classic radio show. This episode continues our series on Matthew Chapter 6. Today Kathryn focuses on "God's Perfect Will" (different from His Permissive will). Kathryn shares with us how she finds God's perfect will for herself. This show has helped me to become more like Jesus and I am sure it can do the same for you. I don't intended to do introductions or music...what you will hear will be just Kathryn Kuhlman teaching. If you are new to the podcast I suggest listening to the first 5 episodes which is Kathryn's 5 part series on "Love". Take care.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Father God with heaven above and surrounded with your wonderful love and in the caring
(00:14):
keeping of our Lord. Peace of mind, peace of soul. We are rich. We have something all the money in
the world cannot buy. Thanks. Well sirs, we're continuing our heart to heart talk regarding
(00:46):
that portion of the prayer that Jesus set as a pattern for our praying and that's exactly what
it is. In this great masterpiece of a sermon that Jesus gave, he gave us a pattern as recorded in
(01:06):
the sixth chapter of Matthew for our praying. Oh sometimes I think that men have made this subject
of prayer so hard, so difficult when really Jesus has made it so simple. Now in this pattern that
(01:30):
he gave us is a part that is so profound that sometimes I wonder if any one of us can fully
comprehend the full depth of its meaning. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
(01:59):
Therefore we can readily see that there are two wills involved. One in heaven
which is God's perfect will for our lives. There is in heaven this very hour in the mind of God
a perfect will for your life. A perfect will for my life. But at the same time
(02:33):
you have a will of your own which is exercised here and now while you're on this earth.
And I have a will separate and apart from the will of any other human being. And that will
(02:55):
can be exercised separate and apart from the will that God has for me according to his blueprint
in glory. May I remind you again how important human life is. There's nothing
(03:16):
in the mind of God that's more important than human life.
Don't ever feel that you are unimportant to God. Never. You are vitally important.
Every human life, the living of that life is so important. Every day is important. Every hour is
(03:38):
important. I pass this way but once you go through this life but once after this day
has passed and gone. When the clock strikes the midnight hour you cannot bring back a single
(04:01):
opportunity. You cannot relive a single moment of this day. It's gone forever.
It's history never to be brought back to you again. That's the reason this thing of living,
this thing of life is so important. The hours are so fleeting. The hours are so important.
(04:26):
The hour is so fleeting. Be careful what you do with this life of yours.
You did not come by chance. You are not living this life by chance.
(04:47):
God is not a permissive God. You are as important to him as though you were the only person
who was ever born. When you pray, your prayer is as important to him as though you were the only
person praying. Now watch. When you were born, and I believe this with every atom of my being,
(05:19):
when you took that first cry, that first breath, in that body of yours was a soul
with eternity for a lifetime, death cannot touch that soul.
Man is a strange combination of the eternal and the material. The old body will go back
(05:45):
to the dust of the earth from whence it came. But there's a part of you that is eternal.
Nothing can destroy. Death cannot touch it. But you were also born with a will.
Our wills are ours. Every person is born with a will separate from the will of anyone else.
(06:13):
You are free to exercise that will of yours.
You and I are born free moral agents. You can do with your life whatever you please.
And I still believe with every atom of my being that there's many a man, many a woman
(06:33):
who's walking the streets of failure in defeat.
Licked by the problems of life who might have been a wonderful spiritual giant for God,
a glorious leader who might have lived that life in victory.
(06:57):
Had only one life. And that life was a life of victory.
In victory. Had only they surrendered their will to the perfect will of God.
You will remember that when I left you in our last little heart to heart talk,
(07:21):
I gave you proof positive from the word of God that God has a permissive and a perfect will.
I gave you that proof in the word of God as found in the 106th song.
The children of Israel had just enjoyed that wonderful victory.
(07:44):
And the waters covered their enemies. There was not one of them left.
Then believe that they his words, they sang his praise.
But true to human nature, they soon forget his works.
They waited not for his counsel, but locked it exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted God
(08:09):
in the desert. And he gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.
Here we have a concrete example of God having given a people that which they desired,
(08:31):
that which they wanted, that which they requested. But it was not his perfect will.
It was not heaven's best for them. But he gave them his will.
He gave it to them because they wanted it. They desired it. They sought it.
(08:55):
But in giving it to them, in giving them that which they desired,
he was giving them his permissive will.
This beloved means more to me than I can tell because you see,
(09:17):
I've come a long way since I first began the ministry. I've had to learn the hard way.
It seems to me that I've had to learn everything in my life the hard way.
Oh, I tell you, I've been knocked down so often. I brought all my troubles on myself because of my stupid.
(09:43):
I can't blame God for a thing that I've ever suffered in my life. And I look back, I brought it all on myself.
You see, it's because I'm one of those creatures that just naturally is impetuous. I like peace.
(10:08):
In my natural construction, I have a lot of patience.
In my natural construction, I have problems.
Just like I told you when I first began this series of messages, I did not decide on what country to be born in,
(10:33):
what century to be born in, my sex. I had no choice in this whatsoever. I had no choice regarding my physical appearance.
My goodness of life, I wish I had had long black hair. What did I get? Red hair and freckles.
(10:55):
I had no choice in it. It's just like that. And in my temperament, it would be just wonderful to be the finally patient.
What did I get? Anything else but patience.
(11:21):
Impetuous. Everything has to be done right now. It can't wait.
Therefore, I have found that many a time, I have gotten God's permissive will.
(11:44):
Because I couldn't wait. I didn't wait. I went in where angels did fear to tread.
I prayed. I stormed heaven. Now, Heavenly Father, right now. It's got to be right now.
(12:15):
He saw the sincerity of my heart. He wouldn't disappoint my confidence in him.
He said, all right, child, I will give you that which you have asked. I'll answer your prayer, all right.
(12:40):
But in answering your prayer, I can only give you heaven's second best.
And sometimes I've gotten the third best. And sometimes I've gotten the fourth and fifth best.
Because I had to have it now, right now, God, now.
(13:05):
When had I waited for his time, for his wisdom, he in perfect knowledge knew that had I waited a little longer, it would have been much better for me.
(13:30):
What did he give me? The desire of my heart, but sent leanness to my soul, even as he did to the children of Israel.
You know, this thing of knowing God's perfect will is one of the hardest things in the world.
(13:52):
Don't ever think that anyone else can tell you what God's perfect will is for you.
Don't ever come to me and say, Miss Kuhlman, what is God's perfect will for me?
I can't give you the answer. I have a hard enough time myself trying to find out God's perfect will for me.
(14:14):
No one else can tell me what God's perfect will is for me. Don't you try.
Don't you try to come and tell me what God's will is for me.
You have a hard enough time taking care of God's perfect will for you.
And that's one of the hardest things in the world.
(14:39):
It's all very wonderful, all of this that I've been bringing you in previous Heart to Heart talks regarding,
Thy will be done in earth as it is according to God's will in heaven.
It's wonderful talking about.
(14:59):
But when you come face to face with the thing,
and you say one thing is God's perfect will and something else is not God's perfect will,
the both cannot be His perfect will.
(15:23):
I'll tell you a secret that I have learned through all these years of experience
and through many bitter tears and many heartaches and heartaches.
(15:46):
You can only know the perfect will of God when you get to the place where you have no will of your own.
The same place where Jesus got to when he looked up and said,
Father, not my will, but Thine be done.
(16:08):
And he surrendered his will to the will of the Father.
When you can look up and can get to the place of full surrender,
where literally, actually, you have no will of your own.
That's exactly what Paul meant in the eighth chapter of Romans,
(16:35):
when he said, likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities.
For we know not what we should pray for as we ought.
How often we've gotten to that place.
How often we've gotten to the place where we knew not what we should pray for as we ought.
(17:04):
But Paul continues,
But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
(17:27):
because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
This is priceless.
Paul is giving us the answer right here,
(17:47):
because he too had come to the place more than once,
when he did not know what the perfect will of God was or how to pray.
He said, all right, this is what I do.
(18:07):
I go alone.
I close the door.
I look up.
I surrender my will completely to the will of the Father.
I get to the place where I have no will of my own, and then the two will become as one.
(18:30):
I surrender to the will of the Father.
Knowing not how to pray or what is the will of my God, I am quiet.
And I permit the Holy Spirit, who knows the will of God for me,
to pray through me, in me, and he will show me God's perfect will.
(19:03):
I am giving one of the greatest spiritual secrets humanly possible to give.
God bless you.
Father God with heaven above and surrounded with your wonderful love and in the caring
(00:14):
keeping of our Lord. Peace of mind, peace of soul. We are rich. We have something all the money in
the world cannot buy. Thanks. Well sirs, we're continuing our heart to heart talk regarding
(00:46):
that portion of the prayer that Jesus set as a pattern for our praying and that's exactly what
it is. In this great masterpiece of a sermon that Jesus gave, he gave us a pattern as recorded in
(01:06):
the sixth chapter of Matthew for our praying. Oh sometimes I think that men have made this subject
of prayer so hard, so difficult when really Jesus has made it so simple. Now in this pattern that
(01:30):
he gave us is a part that is so profound that sometimes I wonder if any one of us can fully
comprehend the full depth of its meaning. Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.
(01:59):
Therefore we can readily see that there are two wills involved. One in heaven
which is God's perfect will for our lives. There is in heaven this very hour in the mind of God
a perfect will for your life. A perfect will for my life. But at the same time
(02:33):
you have a will of your own which is exercised here and now while you're on this earth.
And I have a will separate and apart from the will of any other human being. And that will
(02:55):
can be exercised separate and apart from the will that God has for me according to his blueprint
in glory. May I remind you again how important human life is. There's nothing
(03:16):
in the mind of God that's more important than human life.
Don't ever feel that you are unimportant to God. Never. You are vitally important.
Every human life, the living of that life is so important. Every day is important. Every hour is
(03:38):
important. I pass this way but once you go through this life but once after this day
has passed and gone. When the clock strikes the midnight hour you cannot bring back a single
(04:01):
opportunity. You cannot relive a single moment of this day. It's gone forever.
It's history never to be brought back to you again. That's the reason this thing of living,
this thing of life is so important. The hours are so fleeting. The hours are so important.
(04:26):
The hour is so fleeting. Be careful what you do with this life of yours.
You did not come by chance. You are not living this life by chance.
(04:47):
God is not a permissive God. You are as important to him as though you were the only person
who was ever born. When you pray, your prayer is as important to him as though you were the only
person praying. Now watch. When you were born, and I believe this with every atom of my being,
(05:19):
when you took that first cry, that first breath, in that body of yours was a soul
with eternity for a lifetime, death cannot touch that soul.
Man is a strange combination of the eternal and the material. The old body will go back
(05:45):
to the dust of the earth from whence it came. But there's a part of you that is eternal.
Nothing can destroy. Death cannot touch it. But you were also born with a will.
Our wills are ours. Every person is born with a will separate from the will of anyone else.
(06:13):
You are free to exercise that will of yours.
You and I are born free moral agents. You can do with your life whatever you please.
And I still believe with every atom of my being that there's many a man, many a woman
(06:33):
who's walking the streets of failure in defeat.
Licked by the problems of life who might have been a wonderful spiritual giant for God,
a glorious leader who might have lived that life in victory.
(06:57):
Had only one life. And that life was a life of victory.
In victory. Had only they surrendered their will to the perfect will of God.
You will remember that when I left you in our last little heart to heart talk,
(07:21):
I gave you proof positive from the word of God that God has a permissive and a perfect will.
I gave you that proof in the word of God as found in the 106th song.
The children of Israel had just enjoyed that wonderful victory.
(07:44):
And the waters covered their enemies. There was not one of them left.
Then believe that they his words, they sang his praise.
But true to human nature, they soon forget his works.
They waited not for his counsel, but locked it exceedingly in the wilderness and tempted God
(08:09):
in the desert. And he gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul.
Here we have a concrete example of God having given a people that which they desired,
(08:31):
that which they wanted, that which they requested. But it was not his perfect will.
It was not heaven's best for them. But he gave them his will.
He gave it to them because they wanted it. They desired it. They sought it.
(08:55):
But in giving it to them, in giving them that which they desired,
he was giving them his permissive will.
This beloved means more to me than I can tell because you see,
(09:17):
I've come a long way since I first began the ministry. I've had to learn the hard way.
It seems to me that I've had to learn everything in my life the hard way.
Oh, I tell you, I've been knocked down so often. I brought all my troubles on myself because of my stupid.
(09:43):
I can't blame God for a thing that I've ever suffered in my life. And I look back, I brought it all on myself.
You see, it's because I'm one of those creatures that just naturally is impetuous. I like peace.
(10:08):
In my natural construction, I have a lot of patience.
In my natural construction, I have problems.
Just like I told you when I first began this series of messages, I did not decide on what country to be born in,
(10:33):
what century to be born in, my sex. I had no choice in this whatsoever. I had no choice regarding my physical appearance.
My goodness of life, I wish I had had long black hair. What did I get? Red hair and freckles.
(10:55):
I had no choice in it. It's just like that. And in my temperament, it would be just wonderful to be the finally patient.
What did I get? Anything else but patience.
(11:21):
Impetuous. Everything has to be done right now. It can't wait.
Therefore, I have found that many a time, I have gotten God's permissive will.
(11:44):
Because I couldn't wait. I didn't wait. I went in where angels did fear to tread.
I prayed. I stormed heaven. Now, Heavenly Father, right now. It's got to be right now.
(12:15):
He saw the sincerity of my heart. He wouldn't disappoint my confidence in him.
He said, all right, child, I will give you that which you have asked. I'll answer your prayer, all right.
(12:40):
But in answering your prayer, I can only give you heaven's second best.
And sometimes I've gotten the third best. And sometimes I've gotten the fourth and fifth best.
Because I had to have it now, right now, God, now.
(13:05):
When had I waited for his time, for his wisdom, he in perfect knowledge knew that had I waited a little longer, it would have been much better for me.
(13:30):
What did he give me? The desire of my heart, but sent leanness to my soul, even as he did to the children of Israel.
You know, this thing of knowing God's perfect will is one of the hardest things in the world.
(13:52):
Don't ever think that anyone else can tell you what God's perfect will is for you.
Don't ever come to me and say, Miss Kuhlman, what is God's perfect will for me?
I can't give you the answer. I have a hard enough time myself trying to find out God's perfect will for me.
(14:14):
No one else can tell me what God's perfect will is for me. Don't you try.
Don't you try to come and tell me what God's will is for me.
You have a hard enough time taking care of God's perfect will for you.
And that's one of the hardest things in the world.
(14:39):
It's all very wonderful, all of this that I've been bringing you in previous Heart to Heart talks regarding,
Thy will be done in earth as it is according to God's will in heaven.
It's wonderful talking about.
(14:59):
But when you come face to face with the thing,
and you say one thing is God's perfect will and something else is not God's perfect will,
the both cannot be His perfect will.
(15:23):
I'll tell you a secret that I have learned through all these years of experience
and through many bitter tears and many heartaches and heartaches.
(15:46):
You can only know the perfect will of God when you get to the place where you have no will of your own.
The same place where Jesus got to when he looked up and said,
Father, not my will, but Thine be done.
(16:08):
And he surrendered his will to the will of the Father.
When you can look up and can get to the place of full surrender,
where literally, actually, you have no will of your own.
That's exactly what Paul meant in the eighth chapter of Romans,
(16:35):
when he said, likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities.
For we know not what we should pray for as we ought.
How often we've gotten to that place.
How often we've gotten to the place where we knew not what we should pray for as we ought.
(17:04):
But Paul continues,
But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit,
(17:27):
because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
This is priceless.
Paul is giving us the answer right here,
(17:47):
because he too had come to the place more than once,
when he did not know what the perfect will of God was or how to pray.
He said, all right, this is what I do.
(18:07):
I go alone.
I close the door.
I look up.
I surrender my will completely to the will of the Father.
I get to the place where I have no will of my own, and then the two will become as one.
(18:30):
I surrender to the will of the Father.
Knowing not how to pray or what is the will of my God, I am quiet.
And I permit the Holy Spirit, who knows the will of God for me,
to pray through me, in me, and he will show me God's perfect will.
(19:03):
I am giving one of the greatest spiritual secrets humanly possible to give.
God bless you.
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