April 24 I Tuesday

2 Samuel 19-20

Luke 18:1-23

“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” —Matthew 6:10

There are four words that are imperative in our prayer lives. They were the words Jesus used when teaching His disciples to pray: “Your will be done.” During Hezekiah’s illness, his prayer was focused solely on his will, begging God to remember his goodness and faithfulness. He did not mention the will of God for his life or even a concern over the succession of the throne. Prior to this, he listened to the Lord, but now Hezekiah was the only one talking, pouring out his fears and anxieties.

It is good to pray about our situations and feelings. The Psalms are filled with expressions of anger, fear, depression and bitterness, sometimes even directed towards God. This tells us God wants us to communicate with Him openly and honestly, regardless of our feelings. There are numerous occasions in the Bible when people brought troubling situations before God on behalf of themselves or interceding for others and they were answered with the will of God being done. In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night of Jesus’s arrest, He appealed to His Father three times to take the cup of crucifixion from Him, but His prayers remained, “...yet not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). It was in extreme personal anguish that Jesus prayed, but the will of God remained His priority.

Some have argued that praying for God’s will to be done shows a lack of faith. They believe faith is affirming or declaring a response from God that will see things their way. This is a misguided assumption. Others go so far as to say that praying “Your will be done” is a cop-out, because if God does not miraculously heal someone or providentially intercede in world events, we can simply say, “Well, I guess that was not His will.” We do not show faith by asking God for outcomes completely contrary to current circumstances. “Your will be done” is exactly the point. This does not demonstrate a lack of faith but the truest expression of faith, because we trust a sovereign God who knows exactly what He is doing and why.

The question is, whose will are we prioritizing when we pray? It is natural to want God to preserve our lives or remove difficult circumstances from us, but we show distrust when we pray without consideration for His will. Praying “Your will be done” requires surrendering our desires and agendas to the lordship of Christ, which takes the pressure off us and leaves the outcome to God’s infinite wisdom. His ways are infallible and earnestly praying for “Your will be done,” is the highest expression of faith.    

Prayer: Sovereign Lord, may my prayer ever be “Your will be done.” Help me to rest in Your sufficiency, not just in troubling times but every day. Thank You, God.