Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. How often do you say the Lord’s prayer? How often do you think about what you are saying? “Thy will be done”. Do you really want God’s will, or do you want God to accept your will as what needs to happen? I pray for all sorts of things. I can honestly say that I am mostly praying for good things. Now I know that not everything in my life has been enjoyable and would not have been something I prayed for, but when looking back, it was part of God’s plans. It was His will in my life.
It is a little complicated. How do I pray for God’s will when I do not know what His will is? Philippians 2:13 (NLT) may give us some insight. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” We should always be working for and striving to be more like Jesus. As we are working for that purpose, God is working “in” us. There is no promise that you will love God’s will or even like it. Some may say, you must endure the storm to get to the rainbow. As the Scripture says, God will give us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him. We will want to do God’s will.
As He is working in us, He is transforming our desires to align with His. We need to trust in what He has planned for us. That is not always easy, but as you grow closer to God, it becomes easier. As you look back in your life, you may be more aware of where His plan has taken over your own and where you are better off because He stepped in. Can you think of examples in your life where this has happened? I can name several.
I was very career driven in my 20’s and 30’s. I was determined to move up the corporate ranks in management and it cost me money with all the moves around the country and in my relationships because of putting work in front of my family. Finally, I gave the controls over to God in 2008. I prayed that He would direct my career and where I needed to go from there. I was blessed with an opportunity to transition out of operations management to being part of the accounting team. I have continued to grow in this occupational area and have not once, since 2008, strived for a higher up position within the company. I have been more successful than I have ever been, and it is because of God’s will being done.
My prayers have changed to include asking for His direction in my life. If I pray for others, I ask God to take care of their needs. I typically do not pray for their wants. If they are struggling and have voiced what they feel will help them overcome their burdens, I pray that God will give them peace. I would like for everyone to always be healthy and happy, but that may not be God’s plan for them. Look at the story of Lazarus in John chapter 11. He was very sick and instead of Jesus immediately coming to heal him, Lazarus passed away. Jesus, a few days later, raised him from the dead. Lazarus’ relatives did not ask for his death, but that was God’s will.
As we pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven, realize it may come with some pain and suffering. In the end, His will is always good. As we grow closer to God, His desires start to become our desires. Our will starts to align with His will. Over the next week, concentrate on how you are praying and what you are praying for. Is it aligning with God’s will or our human wants?
