Matthew 6:10
Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Luke 11:2
Your kingdom come.
There are many different wills in the world that we can desire. First and foremost, we can desire our own wills; I can decide that what I want is what is best for me to do. I can decide to follow the advice of those wiser than me, which is not always a bad idea. I can do what people around me do. Or I can desire that God’s will be done in the world and in my life. Why should we do that, beyond the simple answer of “because he’s God?”
The answer again relies on looking at the character of God and what He’s done in the past, because we believe that His past actions will give us a hint of future actions. Our God is one who makes plans for His people to take care of them.1Jeremiah 29:11-13. As the Church, we are His people against whom the gates of Hell will not prevail.2Matthew 16:18. The purpose of God since the Fall has been the reconciliation of Creation, starting with the protoevangelium of Genesis 3:15. John writes that God is love,31 John 4:8. and Jesus himself tells us that if we, as sinful human beings, know how to give good gifts to our children, then we can expect the Heavenly Father to do much more than that.4Matthew 7:11. We desire God’s will because we are His children, adopted through Christ.5Ephesians 1:5. Even if we don’t always like His will, we should at least understand that He is bringing about good through it, somehow and someway.
Desiring His will is not enough though – how can we desire what we do not know? Luckily, knowing God’s will isn’t all that hard in a number of cases. The renewing of our minds that begins with our decision to follow Christ is a first step in knowing the will of God, because it enables us to test and discern what the will of God is.6Romans 12:2. As Christians, one thing we can do is simply ask – James teaches us to ask for wisdom,7James 1:5-7. and the Psalms are full of prayers that ask God to teach the Psalmist to do His will.8Psalm 143:10. We can also know God’s will through counsel of Christian mentors, people who will pray with us through a tough decision until some answer is received. Once we know God’s will, we can trust it.
When we say, “I desire that God’s will be done,” we also say, “I will do God’s will, so far as I am able.”
Desiring God’s will is based on faith that He will continue to be the same God He’s always been, as James writes9James 1:17. and knowing that we can trust Him to guide our steps10Psalm 37:23. and give us straight paths to walk as we follow Him.11Proverbs 3:5-6. God’s will is not just His plan for the future; it is also a set of commandments that we are to follow. When we say, “I desire that God’s will be done,” we also say, “I will do God’s will, so far as I am able.” The desire to do God’s will by following His commandments requires some effort, in that it means studying to know those commandments. It means submitting to those who can help us grow as disciples and follow Christ.
Evangelical culture talks about “surrendering to Christ,” but in many cases, this phrase has lost force because of overuse. Somehow, we have forgotten how to say to God, “Your will be done – not mine, but yours,” as Christ did.12Luke 22:42. We don’t say, “Christ must increase, and I must decrease,” like John the Baptist did.13John 3:30. We do not say, “I am crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me,” like Paul does.14Galatians 2:20. When we take time to remember how to say these things and begin to self-sacrificially follow God, then we can better grow in the way that we should.
In essence, He wants us to live in a way that fosters communion with Him instead of trying to please ourselves or others.
Our problem is that we don’t like to give up control of our lives. We like being independent, and we like to make our own choices. We don’t always like the idea of God leading us to places that we might not like, or asking us to refrain from things we enjoy. But that is what God sometimes does. He asks us to surrender our judgment in favor of His, to surrender our desire to please ourselves in favor of a desire to please Him. In essence, He wants us to live in a way that fosters communion with Him instead of trying to please ourselves or others.
A.W. Tozer, in The Crucified Life, makes a small mention that Christians should be steadily growing toward a complete submission to Christ, such that the old person is gone, completely replaced by the new.15A.W. Tozer, The Crucified Life: How To Live Out A Deeper Christian Experience (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 2011). We begin to grow when we honestly say, “Not my will, but yours, God.” We may not be happy about it, but at the very least, we still know that His will is better for us. Over time, as we continue to honor God, we begin to desire Him and His will more and more.
References
1. | ↑ | Jeremiah 29:11-13. |
2. | ↑ | Matthew 16:18. |
3. | ↑ | 1 John 4:8. |
4. | ↑ | Matthew 7:11. |
5. | ↑ | Ephesians 1:5. |
6. | ↑ | Romans 12:2. |
7. | ↑ | James 1:5-7. |
8. | ↑ | Psalm 143:10. |
9. | ↑ | James 1:17. |
10. | ↑ | Psalm 37:23. |
11. | ↑ | Proverbs 3:5-6. |
12. | ↑ | Luke 22:42. |
13. | ↑ | John 3:30. |
14. | ↑ | Galatians 2:20. |
15. | ↑ | A.W. Tozer, The Crucified Life: How To Live Out A Deeper Christian Experience (Bloomington, MN: Bethany House, 2011). |