In Part Seven of our series on The Lord’s Prayer we learned what the Lord expects from us to further His Kingdom. Today we will learn more about finding God’s will for our lives.
“your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:10b NIV)
We pray to the Lord for His will to be done, but how sincere are we? This is no goodbye kiss you fling over your shoulder as you run out the door. This is more of a conference room moment. Let’s have a meeting, and discuss and ponder what we are agreeing to as we thoughtlessly pray “Your will be done,” (And what I mean by thoughtless is rote repetition, heart disengaged, brain in neutral).
What if His will includes sickness, trials, or losses we are not prepared to take? I have heard many prayers, in and out of church, for God to heal or bless or provide, but I have never heard anyone actually say, “Your will be done” in these petitions. We prefer to claim the promises of blessing, but do we neglect the promises of suffering? Because the Bible does promise suffering, and no matter how much we would like to jump over that fact, realistically we cannot, and I am sure it does more harm than good to avoid pondering the pains and sorrows that God said we would endure and thereby render ourselves unprepared.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 NIV)
“More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5 ESV)
“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” (1 Peter 4:1 ESV)
But in every trial God has promised to be with us.
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:2 ESV)
And God with us will never fail to outshine our lives without Him, even if His will means suffering for a short while until we reach the shores of Home.
Lord, help us to be patient in affliction, knowing that You have promised joy unspeakable on the other side of this life. May the promise of Glory lift us above any storm in our lives. Help us to trust You more and more, even in the midst of suffering. May Your will be done, Father, on earth as it is in Heaven. Amen.
Next we will explore God’s abundant provision for us in the moment and why we needn’t worry about how we will get along tomorrow.
Yours in Christ,
Sonya Richards
(To Access the rest of “The Lord’s Prayer” mini-series, please click here!)