Your Will Be Done!
- Sep 27, 2024
- 6 min read
Max Lucado said, “All of our lives we’ve been urged to look out for number one.... Our lives, our values, our dreams and our striving are for the most part about our self- fulfilment. We live in a me-centric world and we become me-centric people. We think that what we want and what we need should be the centre of the universe...that even God should cater to us.”
A couple of weeks ago we looked at what it was to align our hearts to God. This week we are looking at aligning our will to His. When was the last time you actually prayed 'not my will but your will be done’?
Prayer is not aligning God’s will to ours; it is aligning our will to God’s.
The power to choose God’s will instead of our own is, according to the Bible, the defining moment in each of our lives.
Luke 22:42: “Not my will but yours be done.”
However, we have to first go back to the Garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve started the sad pulling-away from God’s will and purpose for life. It’s as if they prayed a prayer to Father God that we so often pray today: “Not Your will …” In that one earth-shattering moment of decision, a craving to be like God, a heart was corrupted, never to be the same again.
And so, in another garden, a choice had to be made that would reverse the choice that Adam took. Jesus in Luke 22 prayed a word, “Yet… ” and on that single word from Jesus, I can think of heaven falling silent (remember last week?) and a pause that must have seemed endless before the next words, “Not my will but yours”.
Either God calls the shots or you call the shots. Either He is in control or you are in control.
R. Law said, "Prayer is a mighty instrument, not for getting man’s will done in heaven, but for getting God’s will done on earth.”
That is, we pray with God’s heart and will in mind: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10).
Such a prayer is focused on God’s wants, God’s will and God’s way. It begins and ends with God. Therefore, serious praying like this helps us align our wills to His.
Your will be done!! It’s not easy to pray because it means giving up control of your own life.
You can pray “Your will be done” in at least three different ways.
You can say it in resentment: “Your will be done, but I don’t like it.”
You can say it in resignation: “Your will be done, because I can’t help it.”
William Barclay said, “When we pray, “Thy will be done”, we are not praying for resignation; we are praying for triumph.”
Or you can say it with reassurance: “Your will be done, because I know it is the best, and that’s what I want for my life today!”
Ray Pritchard said, “When we ask that God’s will be done, we are implicitly asking that our wills be overturned, if necessary.”
It’s not easy to pray, especially if you’re standing by the bed of someone you love that’s terminally ill.
A definition of the will of God: “The will of God is exactly what we would choose for our lives if we had sense enough to choose it.”
In Psalm 143 :10, David prayed, “teach me to do Your will.” He didn’t ask to understand or know His will. He didn’t say, “I need to find Your will.” He simply prayed, “teach me to do Your will.” To know or encounter God’s will, one must first understand how the Bible describes God’s will.
“With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfilment” (Eph 1:8).
Another definition – "The will of God connects His omnipotence to the created world in His providence."
This was the prayer of Mary after the angel Gabriel had revealed to her the will of God in having His son Jesus. “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38).
Mary became the mother of the Son of God because she prayed that God’s will might be done in her life. Her life, and the life of the world, was transformed because she lived that prayer. Yes, it came with an amazing privilege but also at such a cost to her life.
“Your will be done.” What a request. How often do we pray it and really really mean it?
Let’s think about it. How many times today do you think that out of a population of 8.2 billion people, the will of someone on earth will have been gloriously changed to God’s will because of a prayer "not my will but yours be done?"
Let’s make it easier, everyone reading this blog today (say 90 people). How many will have prayed to see God’s will being done in their lives today, tomorrow or next week?
When we are serious in prayer, and long to align our will with His, we begin to grow spiritually and are able to discern what God wants, and then pray accordingly. When we pray, “Not my will, but yours, be done”, we actually begin to be open to living by design not default!
The Bishop of London said, “Be who God made you to be... and you can set the world on fire!”
The safest place in the world to be is in the middle of God’s will. It doesn’t matter what’s surrounding you; if you’re in the middle of God’s will, you have nothing to fear. The Bible says, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:17).
Let’s pause
Think about the following text for a moment.
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your true and proper worship.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Roms 12).
I quote this because I’m sure many of us are reluctant to be in total surrender to God and His will for our life. What will it mean? Where will it take me? What happens to my plans?
Notice that the scripture says God’s will is good, meaning it cannot be improved upon. It’s pleasing, meaning we will be totally satisfied as His will is worked out in our lives, and it’s perfect, meaning that God has determined the absolute best plan for His will in and through us.
Richard Foster said, “The Holy Spirit accompanies us in our prayers: the Spirit straightens out, purifies, adjusts our prayer to conform to God’s will”
Sir Thomas Lipton, a famous yacht racer, won many trophies except the one he really wanted, ‘The America’s Cup.’ One day he was showing some friends all his trophies in his home, and said, “I’d give them all away to get the one I didn’t get!”
God asks today, “Will you surrender to my will?” You may ask, “What is it?” His reply, “It doesn’t matter!” God’s will is real, can be refused, but is always right!
Ephesians 6:6 talks of "doing the will of God from your heart."
Garry Friesen says, “God’s individual will is that ideal, detailed life-plan which God has uniquely designed for each believer. This life-plan encompasses every decision we make and is the basis of God’s daily guidance. This guidance is given through the indwelling Holy Spirit who progressively reveals God’s life-plan to the heart of the individual…”
The will of God is not a programme, it is a relationship. It is not what you do, it is what you are and seeking to become, in full acceptance that God knows best!
Pray:
“Lord, I want to know and do your will…nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else! And when you reveal it to me, I promise in advance to do it!”
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