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Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you" Psa Too many errors come at this very point 4. Only having done these three things first should we then ask what "burdens" God may have placed on our hearts, or what providence may have "cornered" us into allowing no room but to go in a certain direction.
Several things need to be added to make this a more comprehensive plan of operation. We should, for example, always be patient when trying to ascertain the will of God. That God leads is a promise e.
Our emotions are not a safe guide here and the wise Christian will not trust the voice that always speaks of ease and safety. That is why, by the way, it is never wrong, or an expression of unbelief, to add to our praying for the healing of the sick, "If it be Your will. When we have no promise, as in healing, for example, it is a sign of meekness, not weakness , to add "If it be Thy will. The issue is one of submission and obedience on our part.
Praying, "Thy will be done" in this case is asking God to give humble hearts that we might find ourselves complaining at the particular expression of his will as it unfolds in our life. But there is a sense, too, in which the will of God calls upon us to do something, to be obedient to a particular directive.
Praying, "Thy will be done" in this case means asking for purpose of mind and resolve of spirit, strength that is, to do as God bids us. Both of these aspects emerge in the life of our Saviour in the Garden of Gethsemane. Having withdrawn to pray, He had thrown Himself prostrate on the ground and become so exhausted by the ordeal that we read of angel appearing to strengthen Him Luke Resuming to pray the Greek speaks of Him being in "agony" agonia sweat falls like drops of blood from His brow Luke The book of Hebrews, reflecting on this passage, speaks of the poignancy of Jesus struggle Heb 5: It is a depiction of man at the end of his tether as he reflects on the full implications of the will of God for the Servant of the LORD.
Several important truths emerge as a consequence: First, the instinctive recoil upon discovering how difficult the will of God may appear to be is not necessarily sinful.
We are to take up a cross, He insists, thereby denying much modern thought offering health and wealth upon following Him; never does He suggests that taking that cross will be anything but difficult and, on the surface at least, undesirable. True, in our case, there is the intrusion of sinful responses: God does not disapprove of that part of the struggle whereby we are determining for sure that this is His will.
There is nothing Stoical about Christian character in the face of trials. Third, the will of God for our lives is hardly ever given in full at any one time. There is a sense in which Jesus knew the demands of his mission from the time of His birth.
Though it may appear as though the devil assaulted Him, it always Jesus who is in charge: But the full reality of his mission did not become apparent until Gethsemane. It is only here that awful reality becomes crystal clear. Our prayer is that we want to be so aligned with the will and purpose of God that we ask God to empower us to accomplish it. It is to pray for the spirit of victory, not the spirit of defeatism.
It is to pray for perseverance until the victory is won, rather than surrender by retreating from the conflict. The prayer of assent will mean the allying ourselves with the great warrior Christ, to do battle with his enemies. And if that means tiredness, or discomfort, or rejection, or jealousy, we must take that as part of the price to be paid. The single desire is that whatever one must go through now, one will have the power and discernment to do the will of God.
Thy Will Be Done in Me: Living the Lord's Prayer [David H. Westphal] on Amazon. com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The third petition of the Lord's Prayer, "Your will be done on earth as it is in which that will (or a part of it) is disclosed to us who live in space and time. " Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah, Pilgrim through this barren land.
It may be a financial decision, or a relationship that is troubling me, or a responsibility that I have. When I am at the bedside of someone who is facing critical health problems, and the prognosis is gloomy, and the immediate future is uncertain, the words we pray take on added meaning. This gives meaning to the last days of this mortal life, and gives us the power to continue on to the next stage of life: We are praying for triumph! My God, my Father, make me strong, When tasks of life seem hard and long, To greet them with this triumph song,.
Draw from my timid eyes the veil, To show, where earthly forces fail, Thy power and love must still prevail,. Things deemed impossible I dare, Thine is the call and thine the care, Thy wisdom shall the way prepare,.
Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee. And so we have certainty - we have our explanations. And if that is where you are going to go….
Intentional Will - God created the world and us and it was very good. So the young man with gifts and interest to become an architect may find himself as a paratrooper at war.
And then the ultimate will is found in our redemption, our coming back to God. It is the goal that is reached despite our sin and our turning away from God.