Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:9-10 ESV
This is the beginning of the model prayer. Jesus was teaching His disciples how to pray. He practices what he preaches in Matthew 26:39 just before He is arrested, falsely accused, beaten, tortured, and crucified. Jesus fell on his face and prayed, “My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Jesus did not want to endure the torture, humiliation and crucifixion. He begged God to remove this from Him, but He wanted God’s will to be done and not His own.
Often times we pray wanting our will to be done. We want it our way. We pray asking God to do it our way and if He doesn’t, we are disappointed. We may even become angry with God. I know all about this, I’ve been there, done that and got the t-shirt. I was living out Proverbs 16:9 which says, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD determines his steps.” I was putting my heart and soul into my great plan for my life. I had set out on this quest and I was determined to see it through.
There was just one small problem. I had not considered Proverbs 3:5-6 which says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths.” That presented a problem. But, I was so busy doing things my way and praying for God to join in this great plan of mine that I failed to see that this was not His plan. This was my plan.
I had hoped He would just quietly take the back seat and let me drive. What a fool I was. My plan had lots of problems with it, but I wasn’t willing to take a good hard look at those issues. I was trusting God to work all this out even though I had not consulted Him in formulating this plan.
The Bible tell us in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not My ways.” This is the Lord’s declaration. “For as heaven is higher than earth, so My ways are higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” The bottom line is this, God is infinitely smarter than we are. He knows everything, He is omniscient. He even knows what our future will hold. He also holds all the power. He is omnipotent. He has the power to make things happen even if they seem impossible to us (Luke 1:37).
It took me a long time to realize that the best thing I could do with my life is put it in God’s hands. I finally realized He’s got this and He really doesn’t need my help. I know He appreciates it when I do what He commands me to do through His holy word. I find that He rewards me for my obedience. He also corrects me through the conviction of the Holy Spirit when I mess up.
People love to take Scripture out of context to say that God will just give us whatever we want if we pray and have faith. This is not the case. If we love the Lord with all we’ve got (Matthew 22:37-39), we want to do things His way. We trust His way more than we trust our own. It took me a while to figure this one out. We understand that His way is better even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time.
The best thing is He had a plan for all that hard work I did. It wasn’t wasted, He just waited 15 years before revealing it to me. I now trust that for everything God has a purpose and a reason. I know He works all things out for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
The Bible tells us that we are to pray for God’s will to be done. It’s easier to do this when we understand ( God’s will and God’s way are best. It may not seem like it at times. I’m sure Jesus did not want to endure the cross for a lot of worthless sinners like you and me (Romans 5:8). But, He wanted to be in God’s will.
When you are praying, consider God. Know His ways are higher than our ways. God’s will is going to prevail, even the devil cannot stop it. It will happen with or without your help. It will be easier for you if you just do it His way. Trusting in Him and praying for His will to be done sure has made my life easier. Don’t take my word for it, try it for yourself.
Have a great day!