The Lord's Prayer - Your Will Be Done (Mar 29, 2020)

Matthew 6:5-13

Introduction: This Lent we are looking at each part of the Lord’s Prayer as we practice using it as a pattern for our prayers. As a model for prayer and a summary of the entire Christian life – the Lord’s Prayer offers us a place to turn in an anxious and overwhelming time. This is the part of the prayer that, the more we really understand it, the more we find it is the hardest part of the prayer to pray. But, at the same time, it is the part of the prayer that, the more we understand it and pray it, the more heaven is brought into our lives of uncertainty, fear and loss. It’s a prayer we must learn to pray in our time of pandemic.

1. Why We Must Pray This Prayer

In order to see why we must pray this prayer; we need to know that there are two main ways that the Bible speaks about the will of God – 1) His will of decree and 2) His will of command. Both are described in Deuteronomy 29:29 – “The hidden things belong to the Lord our God (ie. His sovereign will of decree); but the revealed things (ie. His will of command) belong to us and our children forever so that we may follow all the words of this law.” Jesus gave us this part of the prayer to teach us to how to respond to both aspects of His will by praying, “Your will be done.”.

In response to God’s sovereign will – In the Bible, God’s will often refers to God’s plan for and control over all things. In Romans 9:19, the apostle Paul asks a rhetorical question, “Who can resist His will?” He is saying God’s will shall be done. God is in control. Our choice is either to try to control our lives (ie. resist His will) or to let go of control (ie. surrender to His will). In light of this, some scholars suggest that this part of the prayer should be translated, “May your will happen”. This is not giving God “permission” or resigning to impersonal fate. This is a prayer of personal trust. Though we don’t (and can’t) fully understand God’s will, we must learn to pray, “Even when I don’t understand, I trust you are in control and your will is loving and good”.

Here’s why we must learn to pray this – so much of our prayer is really us saying to God, “God, MY will be done… God, do what I want; carry out my plans.” Praying this in any time – but especially in times of crisis – is a recipe for frustration, disappointment, anger and anxiety. This kind of prayer is asking for God to make us god of our own lives; to put ourselves in control of our lives instead of Him. We must learn to pray this prayer because God alone is God. The reality is (and we are all learning this in a new way now) no matter how hard we try, we cannot control our lives. But we can open our hands to our Father in heaven and trust Him. This is the only way to find heaven’s peace in the chaos of the earth. 

In response to God’s revealed will – Praying “your will be done” in response to God’s revealed will (or will of command) is less mysterious and more straightforward - but even harder for us.  Praying, “Your will be done” is saying yes to everything God says yes to and no to everything God says no to - no exceptions. But a lot of our prayers are really bargaining with God. We think,” If I do this part of His will, maybe He will do this part of my will?” This is the motivation underneath all religious praying – prayer and obedience are used to try to bend God to do our will, but a Christian prays, “Bend all my will to all of yours!”

In this part of the prayer, Jesus brings to the surface something that is hard for us to hear and accept – we are all locked in a battle of wills with God. It’s heaven vs earth; it’s our will vs God’s.  This is not a battle we want to win. As CS Lewis wrote, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done."’ This is why we must learn to pray this prayer.

This can all sound so controlling and stifling to modern people. But here’s what we need to see - it is the most loving thing for God to do to teach us to bend to His will. The most loving thing for God to do is whatever it takes to make us into the kind of person who in the end, in our heart of hearts, can say to God – “Your will be done.”.

The more we do the will of God from the heart, the more we experience the peace, joy and life of heaven on earth, even in hard times. We are at a time when our will is being accomplished less and less. Praying, “My will be done” in this time of pandemic and upheaval is a recipe for anger, irritation, anxiety and resentment. To find joy and peace we must learn to be less and less conformed to this age and more and more transformed by the renewal of our minds in order to discern and do the good, pleasing and perfect will of God (Romans 12:1-2)..

2. Why This Prayer Must Be Prayed for Us

When we really understand this prayer, we see that Jesus is teaching us to hand over everything to God – our plans for our life, our right to choose our own path, our will to do what we want. That’s everything! To pray this takes total and complete trust even when we don’t understand what’s happening and the reason we are being asked to do something or told not to. Who can do that? Who can pray this?

This is a prayer we must pray but it is a prayer we can only really pray if we know that it was a prayer that was prayed for us. There is only one time Jesus prayed an exact phrase of this prayer he taught us. It’s this one – “Your will be done”. He prayed those exact words. In Matthew 26, when Jesus was praying in preparation for His suffering, he prayed, “My Father if it is possible let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will… My Father if this cup cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”

When we ask, “Is God’s will good? Can I trust Him with everything?” Jesus praying on his face “your will be done” is the answer we have been given.

  • God’s will was that the worst day in human history, the greatest act of defiance against His will, the day of suffering for Him would become the best day in human history, the greatest display of His loving will, day of salvation for us. The cross shows us God’s will (His plan) is to turn the tables on all evil, sin, grief and suffering. His will is heaven on earth no matter what the cost.

There is a great cost to really praying this prayer – giving over control of all our lives and setting aside all our will –but the cost for us is nothing compared to what it cost Jesus to pray this prayer for us. When Jesus prayed this prayer, He chose to carry all our sickness, the entire curse of our sin, the power of death itself. It cost Him everything.

Why did he pray it? So that we could. So that we would (willingly!). The will of God was to open a way for us to know the peace, the joy, the life of heaven no matter what we are facing. The way is open to all who come in Jesus’ name and pray, “Your will be done.”

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

  1. What about the message most impacted you or left you with questions? In your own words define the two ways the Bible speaks about the will of God. Which of the two is harder for you to respond to by praying, “Your will be done”? 

  2. In what ways are your prayers you actually saying to God, “Will you carry out my plans (ie. my will)?” Why is this recipe for disaster in these times? Why is it so important that we learn to surrender control of our lives to God in a time of crisis?

  3. Do you bargain with God in prayer (“If I do this part of your will, will you do this part of mine?”) Do you see ways God is teaching you to bend your will to His during this challenging time? Where are you struggling most to say to God, “Bend all my will to yours?”

  4. Why do we need to know that this prayer was prayed for us before we really pray it with full understanding and full hearts? What changes when we look to the cross for answers for our doubts about God’s will?

PRAY | Spend time yourself or with a group slowly praying “Your Will Be Done”. Recommended - Open your hands and get on your knees. Confess areas you are seeking to control or areas of disobedience. Confess your doubts. Fix your heart on Jesus praying this for you – and let that convince your heart that God’s will for you is good, pleasing and perfect.

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