Praying for God’s will to be done

By Ron v. Leerdam

Brothers and sisters in our Lord Jesus Christ,
How appropriate that on this first Sunday of Lent we are considering what it means to pray the 3rd petition of the Lord’s Prayer – ‘Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ What we call, ‘the Lord’s Prayer’ is more accurately – ‘The disciples prayer’.
It is what Jesus taught his disciples to pray. When we are struggling to know what we should pray, this prayer should be what rises from our hearts ‘like incense to the throne of grace’. If we want to know the Lord’s prayer we need to read John 17, Jesus prayer is recorded for us there.

In John 17 First, Jesus prays that the Father would glorify his son so the Son would bring glory to the Father. This Jesus would do as he offered his life as the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Second, Jesus prays for His disciples to whom He had made known the Father in whom they believed. He prays that they might be one in faith and love, filled with joy and protected from the Evil one as they go out into the world with the message of the Gospel – good news making disciples of all nations.

Third, Jesus prayer is for those who will believe in Jesus through their message. That they might be one in faith and love knowing more and more how great is the love of the Father in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

We are never too old to learn from the Scriptures. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:5-15

The Study Bible has this note: “the punctuation suggests that “on earth as it is in heaven” be read with each of the preceding petitions. So we pray to our heavenly Father,

We also know that the Lord Jesus is praying for the well-being, protection and salvation of the people he has purchased with his own precious blood.
This Jesus does continually and without ceasing. Our calling as Christians is to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus calls us to live out the Sermon on the Mount. As Jesus said, “If anyone would follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24
Sometimes the impression given is that once you become a Christian, God owes you an easy life. That is so far from the truth it’s not funny.
Indeed, Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “Father, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

What is God’s will?

Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect!
Be holy for the Lord your God is holy!
Jesus says, “Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”Matthew 12:50.
How I want to be a brother of Jesus!

Where else can we go?
Jesus alone has the words of eternal life.

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I have failed to do God’s will perfectly.
Regrets I have more than a few!

‘If only’ I have said often.’
We cannot rewrite history.
We cannot take back the words that we have spoken in anger which have deeply wounded another person. There are so many things that we regret and all we are
able to do is say, “I am so so sorry!”
Often I cry out to God, ‘O wretched man that I am.’
I am sure that king David must have wished that instead of looking on the lovely form of Bathsheba, he was out fighting with his army against the enemy.
With the Psalmist we confess, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”
“I know my transgressions and my sin is always before me.”
“Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight.”
“O God, do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.” Psalm 51.
Who is qualified to be called a child of the most High God, let alone be a minister of the Gospel?
Jesus calls all of us to be prophets, priests and kings serving the risen Lord Jesus.
“All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans. 3:23
Through the days, weeks, months & years of my life I have asked, ‘Lord, what is your will for me?’

The revealed will of God is written in Scripture.
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.” Deuteronomy 29:29.
The secret will of God is only revealed over time. We know in part and see dimly.

Ultimately we can but pray, Father, your will be done and give me grace, strength and faith that believes that nothing happens by chance or accident.
Help us to wait with patience for your perfect plan to be realized.
Living the sermon on the mount perfectly is impossible!
The more we realize how far short we fall, the more we humble ourselves before God and say, ‘Lord, have mercy on me a sinner!’
Our guilt drives us to the foot of the cross with nothing in our hands to bring!
What did the criminal on the cross have to offer Jesus for his salvation?
Nothing except the plea, ‘Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Luke 23:42 So we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Having been saved we pray, ‘Lord your will be done in my life.’
“Help us and all people to reject our own wills and to obey your will without any backtalk! Your will alone is good!

This does not mean that we cannot express our thoughts and feelings to God when what clearly is His will is difficult for us to do or to endure.
Your husband or wife is called to glory.
There is an irreconcilable relationship breakdown.
All your possessions are destroyed by flood or fire or thieves break in and steal or your business is bankrupt
or your child dies in an accident or from sickness.
Life is not always so easy and the burdens we carry threaten to break our hearts.

“Our helper is the Lord the maker of heaven & earth.”
The reality is that we know in part and see dimly what the secret will of God is for our lives. If only we could be like Jesus, perfect, sinless and without weakness, yet even our Lord as he proclaimed that the kingdom of God has come and is still coming, knew what it was to be tired, weary, be tempted, to take the easy way out, and to have his heart filled with sorrow and grief.
Think of the difficulty that Jesus the perfect Son of God experienced when He was in the garden of Gethsemane.

In this time of Lent we remember particularly the suffering Jesus endured as like a lamb led to the slaughter, He suffered the will of his father which meant certain death. Sweating drops of blood in his mortal agony Jesus prayed,
“Father if it is possible, remove this burden from me, but not my will but Your will be done.”
We can think of the agony experienced by Job on the news that he had lost everything – even his children.
“Naked I came into the world, with nothing I leave it, blessed be the Name of the Lord.” Job 1:21
What we would want – our will is not necessarily the same as God’s will. In this prayer, Jesus wants us to submit to the Father

• where doing His will is our food & drink.
  The catechism expands this thought by saying:
  “Help us one & all to carry out the work we are
  called to as willingly and as faithfully as the
  angels in heaven.” Lord’s Day 49

Do you struggle in this?
If we are honest, all of us do.
We know what God’s revealed will is for us. God shows us in at least 3 different ways that are connected.

ONE: His will is revealed in Scripture, by that I mean the principles & values that God wants us to live by, he has revealed – remember Deuteronomy 29:29

TWO: We also need the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God the Spirit of truth has been given to direct us into the truth. He is the still quiet voice of God that speaks into our hearts & minds. But we must test the ‘spirits’ to see if the small quiet voice is from God.

Remember that our hearts are inclined to put self first, self-interest and what would suit me. Knowing that the Holy Spirit never contradicts the principles He has outlined in the Word, we must search the Scriptures.

Just how should we use the Bible then?
How should we read it?

To just pick a verse out of context will lead us into error.
We can make the Bible say what we like if we read it out of context.
To just take the bits we want to take is fraught with danger.
Consider for a moment what Jesus had to say to the Pharisees.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!
You give a tenth of your spices. But you have neglected the more important
matters of the law – justice, mercy and faithfulness… You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.” Matthew. 23.

THREE: To know God’s will we are to also be helped and guided by the community of believers. God’s gift to each of us is the Church. Our calling as members of the church is to encourage each other to keep the faith. There are times when we bear one another’s burdens and share the comfort of the living God with those who are filled with sorrow. There are times when we are used to help one another in the choices we are presented with.

God reveals His will as we together seek Him.

We are not to live as spiritual hermits.
Together we have the mind of Christ.

Doesn’t the Bible say that where 2 or 3 are gathered in His Name, there God is with them. Yet again, we must together always come back to the touchstone of truth – The Word of God. When we are seeking God’s kingdom first, we are also by implication saying to the Lord that we want to do His will.

What is God’s will for us?

Love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
Love our neighbor as ourselves.
Live out the Sermon on the mount.
Yet there is a real struggle as we make choices in life wondering what God’s will is!

What sort of work you will do?
Who should I marry?
Where should we live?
What church should I attend?
On such occasions the community of believers can be a real help.
“Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
Proverbs also has some great teaching on this subject:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs. 3:5,6

We make it our goal to put the past behind us, our sin, our folly, our ignorance, e.t.c. and strain to what is ahead, pressing on to reach the goal for which God has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus. Our high calling is to be ambassadors of the kingdom of righteousness and peace and love. We are on what is sometimes a painful journey: sanctification so that we become more like Jesus. So as we pray we expect God to be busy using us so His rule is extended and His will is done throughout Penguin and beyond.

AMEN.