Devotional Pondering – A Hard Truth: His will isn’t always our will!

“May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” -Matthew 6:10

Many times, if we’re honest, our prayers contain a very personal aspect – our will.  There are certain things that we pray for that we want to happen, outcomes and accomplishments, dreams and aspirations.  Often times we want God to answer our prayers in the manner that suits us.  Sometimes He answers the way that “we hope” He would answer, while other times His answer isn’t what we expected.  

When we submit ourselves to Him, we are making a conscious attempt of complete surrender – come what may.  Jesus taught His disciples how to pray.  We call it “the Lord’s prayer”, and yet we should understand that Jesus was modeling how prayer should be.  Sure the words are important but so is the attitude in which we say those words.  The Lord’s prayer isn’t a “magic” saying either, it is not the only way to pray, but it models for us the type of prayers that should leave our lips and hearts.  

The Danger
Taking our will out of our prayers might cause us some anxiety.  Our will is sometimes (in my case very, very, very) stubborn.  Our will is probably the last ounce of our old selves that remains within the face of complete surrender.  The will of God, however, can be dangerous to our personal dreams and aspirations because He might call us elsewhere…but...if we chose to accept His will over ours, He provides us with something far better than we could have ever hoped and dreamed of.

We serve a dangerous God.  
That doesn’t mean that He sets out to cause us pain or discomfort, but God calls us and prompts us to this attitude of complete surrender.  Faith is blind sometimes.  When we utter the words “Your Will be done” we have released our self-chosen pathways, our wants and our often selfish wishlists in life, which we have clutched tight-fisted and unwavering in resolve.  His will is not always our will, but can we face a simple truth that releases us to see this dangerous God?  That truth – He knows better than we do.  He can and will guide us.  He wants to lead us.  He is prepared to help us on this journey of Holiness, but we must utter those four, sometimes frightening, words – YOUR.  WILL.  BE.  DONE.

Confessions:
I still struggle with those words…do you? 

Sometimes I find myself fighting against His will.  I think that I know better and so I pray my will into things, people and aspirations once again.  I take back that which I had surrendered to Him.  I take back my trust in His leading.  I take back my faith and choose my will over His..do you find yourself here as well?  I believe God wants us to honestly inventory our lives.  I believe He desires an honest relationship with us and we must actively decide whether or not those four words are true of us.  Are they true of you today? 

 

-Prayer: Dear Lord, I confess that I have not always prayed and surrendered to Your will.  Forgive me when I have taken You for granted and that of Your love.  Teach me to trust you more deeply.  Show me how I can live within Your will more fully.  I know that You long for a deeper relationship with me, guide me, break me, melt me, mold me again.  -Amen.