The Power of "Will"

One of my favorite stories is about the six-year old whose mother asked her just before company came to dinner, if she would say the blessing at the table. “Oh, Mother, I don’t know what I would say,” the child protested. “Just say what you’ve heard me say,” the Mother said. When the food was served, the little girl bowed her head and said, “Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?”

As I have prayed through and studied this passage from Matthew 6 on the Lord's Prayer, I can certainly identify with that story. For too long, my prayers have bordered on vain repetitions and mumblings.

Today we get to a very difficult concept from scripture for most believers. As we are praying "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come", we come to the words "your will be done".

The human will is quite a force to be reckoned with. "The 1992 Summer Olympics featured two tremendously poignant moments. American sprinter Gail Devers, the clear leader in the 100 meter hurdles, tripped over the last barrier. She agonizingly pulled herself to her knees and crawled the last five meters, finishing fifth—but finishing.

Even more heart-rending was the 400 meter semifinal in which British runner Derek Redmond tore a hamstring and fell to the track. He struggled to his feet and began to hobble, determined to complete the race. His father ran from the stands to help him off the track, but the athlete refused to quit. He leaned on his father, and the two limped to the finish line together, to deafening applause." - “What Makes Olympic Champions? John E. Anderson, February 1994 Reader’s Digest, p. 120

There are millions of examples of just how strong our will can be, which is why I believe this concept of "your will be done" is so difficult for us to grasp. I've never understood why God puts up with us! After all, he formed us in our mothers womb, breathed life into our lungs, sustains us through life, made provision for our salvation by sending His Son to die on a cruel cross for us, and gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us through each day, but we still don't want to submit to His will!

In my observation, the things most worthwhile in the life are the ones that cost us something and are difficult. As I thought about this whole idea of praying "your will be done", I tried to imagine for a moment what my life would look like if I could harness that strong, "whatever it takes" will of mine and rip out the "GPS" that is preloaded with all that I want to accomplish, my will.

What if all that remained was just raw passion and devotion, that "whatever it takes" kind of heart determination? What if was willing to surrender that passion, devotion, and "whatever it takes" heart determination exclusively to the perfect will of God? Wouldn't I be more useful in the Kingdom? Wouldn't I be more fulfilled? Wouldn't I have a greater sense of purpose? Wouldn't I be less carnal?

The obvious answer is yes, but the process to get there is much harder than a little prayer. Every moment of the day, someone is sitting on the throne of my life. I know it breaks the heart of God when I'm continually nudging Him over and trying to sit on that throne myself, but I do it anyway, even though I know He is a far superior King and Ruler.

I think the answer is growing to a point in my walk with Jesus that I am so completely focused on Him and His will for my life, that my only desire in going to the throne is to spend time with my Father, not to attempt a takeover.

I believe that's why we are instructed to pray in this manner.... God knows our tendency to desire our own will above His. So He gives us everything we need, His word, His Holy Spirit, His presence in us, and His forgiveness to grow us to a point of change..... when we can no longer distinguish His will from ours because they are so aligned.

Have a BLESSED Day and Live For Jesus!

Whatever It Takes,
Chip