Your Will Be Done

If we pray for his kingdom to come, then it follows that we will pray for his will to be done. Why is this prayer necessary? Because without even trying our will conflicts with God’s will. As many of you know we have an adorable grandson. He just turned nineteen months…and now has an opinion! His strong will often belies his sweet demeanor.

God has a will. God has plans. God’s will is both personal (for your life) and universal (for the entire cosmos). When we pray for his will to be done, we’re praying for his personal will for our lives and for his will for all of humanity.

We cannot fully pray this prayer unless we’re willing to die to ourselves. The most profound example of this is Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Facing the daunting reality of a Roman beating, a Roman cross, and the sins of all of humanity, he asked God to let the cup pass from him. The cup that Jesus was to drink was filled with the wrath of God against our sin. When God didn’t renege on his plan, the prayer Jesus teaches here became the prayer he practiced there.

Not my will but yours be done.

Jesus

What are you wrestling with that you’re struggling to surrender to God’s will? You feel you can’t let it go, can’t let God speak into it? Could I encourage you to remember who you’re addressing? He’s both Father and King (see yesterday’s post). He loves you immensely and knows every detail of every situation of your life. He also sees the big picture better than you and I ever will. Can you trust that God?

Don’t keep this to yourself. Tell your spouse, your friend, your Life Group. Let others in on your struggle to trust God’s will over yours. And don’t pray this prayer because you feel it, pray it because you believe it’s best.