Most of us know the Lord's Prayer, a model for prayer given to us by Jesus:
Our Father, who art in heaven
Hallowed be thy name
Thy kingdom come
Thy will be done.........
How many times have you said the words? It's easy to repeat them from memorization isn't it? How often do we reflect on what the words mean?
Take for example, Thy will be done. What if God's will for our lives is in conflict with what we want to do at the moment? Let's take a real life example. The PiC and I almost never argue, but it does happen occasionally. When I get good and ticked I have a flight instinct. I just want to get in the car and drive away fast. I don't care where. Fleeing is MY will and my mind is already halfway out the door.
Then the small calm voice says, "Stay."
MY will says flee, THY will says stay put.
My choice is rebellion or obedience. What does God say about choosing my own path?
Woe to him who strives with his Maker, an earthen vessel with the potter! Does the clay say to him who fashions it, 'What are you making'? or 'Your work has no handles'?
If I have chosen to be His, then I have given over my life to Him. If I have given over my life to Him, I acknowledge that He is the Maker and I am the clay. I do not know the end from the beginning. I do not know the plans He has for me. For these things I have to trust Him. Often we learn to trust first in small ways, so we are prepared to trust Him when the decision we face is much more important and more difficult than whether to flee after an argument.
How do we know His will for us? Sometimes it is the still small voice. Sometimes it is through prayer. Sometimes it is revealed as we read His word. Sometimes He speaks to us through other believers. Often it is a combination of these things.
For today, ask yourself, do you really mean it when you say, "Thy will be done", if it means choosing His will over your own?
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