10/08/2022
Once we pray about something in our lives are we at peace with it, or do we continue to fret and feel anxious regarding it? Do we offload our burden in prayer, or continue to carry it? Once prayed for, do we trust that God will work this thing for our good, or do we remain anxious and pursuing our own will in whatever we have asked of Him? Are we able to pray as Jesus did then release our desire into God’s hands, and say “not my will but yours be done.”
“do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Philippians 4:6 ESV
We are creatures who were given a will of our own, but our will is meant to remain subservient to God’s. When we resist doing this then we have placed ourselves in the position of god over ourselves, and displaced the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in so doing. This is in opposition to the first commandment which reads…
““You shall have no other gods before me.”
Exodus 20:3 ESV
No other gods is all inclusive, it includes ourselves, others, institutions, imagined gods… anything, that we would consider before we would consider God our Father. So when we pray we should always pray that God’s will be done, and if we truly believe that our God is good., and loves us, then all doubt and concern should flow away from us.
“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 what we call the Lord’s Prayer because it is the way that Jesus taught us to pray. He teaches us to identify who we are praying to, and then to create the construct for all that follows, that God’s will is preeminent. It is only then, when we have thus constructed the divine container, the cup for our personal desires, that we can begin to fill it with our wants…
“Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
Matthew 6:11-13 ESV
Do we begin our prayers by yielding our wills, and desires, to God’s will? Do we trust in his love for us, His goodness, mercy, and grace, enough to hand Him our deepest concerns, our great loves, our mourning, sorrow, and even our lives, believing all that transpires will be for our good?
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV
Do we trust in Him, and love Him enough, to pray as Jesus did in the Garden of Gethsemane, knowing that he faced Calvary, by saying that God’s will be done? Can we pray this way with total resolve, and knowing, as Jesus did, or without knowing, and in faith, as we so often pray, that it might go against our will, but that it will ultimately be for good?
“And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.””
Luke 22:41-42 ESV
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8:28 ESV
Like all of us who believe, I pray for many things, and am asked to pray for others, but in so doing it is hard to pray through the heartbreak. It is difficult when the will of God means that hearts will ultimately be broken… even our own.
A couple at church had a young child that needed a heart transplant and asked that we pray that their child would receive a new heart. I knew and loved this couple, and prayed for their child to receive the heart they desired, but I had to pray first that God’s will would be done in this, because for their child to receive a heart, another couple’s child had to lose one. Life is not simple, and even those things that might seem straight forward, and easily given, have far reaching ramifications. Our wills are near sighted, and though they might be innocent, and without selfish intent, our prayers are too.
So how do we pray, and do we trust that God hears us, and desires good for us… even when it breaks our heart?
Last Sunday my Senior Pastor called Nashville the city of heartbreak, and that is true. So many people come here seeking fame and fortune, but very few find it. Many aspire to be music stars, or to make their fortunes in the music business, and yet, the greatest majority of them go home heartbroken.
Although these heartbroken souls might find that their wills have not been done, and their personal hopes have been dashed, God’s will for them was not, and His plan for them was not even dampened. If they trust in God then they will realize that the good in their lives is simply ahead of them, and will come to them in a multitude of ways. Perhaps they will find an amazing spouse and start a family they would never have known in Music City, or enter into a righteous life that circumstances in Nashville would have stamped out, and destroyed in its infancy, all of this, and more, beyond their ability to see. So when the hearts break in Nashville, or our various cities, and communities, are we there to help them? Are we there to teach them to pray first and foremost that God’s will be done?
“pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 ESV
Pray:
Father, thank you for your will in our lives, and for leading us to take every step through the heartbreaks of life’s many minefields. Thank you Lord for hearing our prayers, walking with us amidst the hardships, and healing our broken hearts. Help us as we continue to limp on in confidence despite our once broken legs, and to endure the scars left by the attempts we have made to do our own will. Strengthen our trust in you, and faith in Jesus as you transform us from heartbroken souls into joy filled saints. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who heals our broken spirits, and comforts us when we mourn, and face disappointment. Praised be your name for the fires of life that harden the clay of our faithful resolve, and brighten and set the colors of your will for us. Merciful are you who makes all things work together for good despite our momentary pain and suffering. Your grace is sufficient for us… even in those times when we struggle to hear your voice, or question our own lives. Wash us in the blood of Jesus, and transform us from who we are in the present midst of our disappointments into your Christlike children, basking in the glow of your glorious will. We pray all of this in the name of your Son Jesus, and ask that your will be done in this, and all things.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”
Jeremiah 29:11-14 ESV
Rich Forbes