The Lord's Will

 

[Jesus said] “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13 ESV).

 

Let’s look a little deeper into the Lord’s Prayer today. God our Father, who loves us and wants a relationship with us, also calls us to do his will. That’s because he wants the best life possible for us, even if we can’t always see that.

 

It’s not easy to surrender ourselves to God’s will or control. I enjoy my personal Scripture study and prayer time in the mornings, and I like finding comfort in God’s promises. But I’m not always eager to follow God’s will in my life. There are those times when doing God’s will is often difficult and challenging. It seems to chafe against my self-will, pride, and independence. I have lived a while now and I can say without hesitation it never ends well when I follow my will instead of His will!

 

In fact, it always seems to end with me settling for fleeting, earthly treasures rather than the full life that God wants for me. And then I fail to recognize that it is better if God’s kingdom comes instead of mine.

 

When I follow Jesus’ example, however, and I pray for God’s kingdom to come, I’m opening my life to be filled by the sovereign God of heaven and earth. I’m inviting God to do whatever he thinks is best, even if it means change. Or discomfort. It’s a pledge to pursue God’s purposes above all else.

 

Are you prepared to pray for that? Are you ready to pray that God’s will be done, even if that means changing jobs or giving money away or spending time with someone you don’t like? What are you willing to risk to see God’s will done? It will be well worth it in the end!