Question: What is the hardest prayer you will ever pray? Answer: The one that you don't want to happen. By praying, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." we are asking God to overturn our own will. What does it mean to pray, "Your will be done."? 1. Praying “Your will be done” means I must give up control A. God has a plan (or desire) for your life/family life B. But you also have a plan (or desire) for your life/family life C. When you pray “Your will be done,” your are asking that his will take precedence over your will. 2. Praying “Your will be done” means I must trust God even when my plan is not done - Does God Know My Name? Millions of people, including millions of apparently loyal churchgoers, secretly wonder, even though they believe there is a God, is there a God who cares for me? - He Bowed His Head And Died. And God said, “Do you still wonder if I love you?” Look to the cross. Gaze on the Son of God. Ponder the meaning of Golgotha. Who is that crucified on Calvary’s tree? His name is Jesus. Study his face. See the wounds in his hands, his feet, his side. Was it not for you that he died? Do you still doubt that God loves you? 3. Praying “Your will be done” means I must accept that personal pain and suffering may be part of God’s plan • Matthew 26:39, “Going a little farther, he fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” These are not the words of unbelief. They are words of faith. They are the words of a man who understands fully what it will cost to do the will of God. If it was difficult for Jesus to pray “Your will be done,” is it likely to be any easier for us? 4. Praying “Your will be done” means I must be an obedient participant Too many things that go on are obviously not God’s will. • Killing the unborn is not God’s will. • Homosexuality is not God’s will. • The rising tide of divorce is not God’s will. • Single moms raising children is not God’s will. • Pastors committing adultery is not God’s will. • Rampant pornography is not God’s will. • Nuclear warfare is not God’s will. • Ethnic cleansing is not God’s will. • Racial prejudice is not God’s will. • Serial killings are not God’s will. • Greed, graft and corruption are not God’s will. Sometimes it seems as if God has gone to sleep and Satan has taken over. God does not accept the status quo! “Your will be done” is an act of God-ordained rebellion. This is not a prayer for the weak or the timid. This is a prayer for troublemakers and rabblerousers. It is a prayer that leads necessarily on to action. If you see injustice being done, you cannot blithely pray “Your will be done,” and then walk away. If you really mean “Your will be done,” you’ve got to jump into the fray and help make it happen. Far to many of us go through life with a clenched fist, trying to control the uncontrollable, trying to mastermind all the circumstances, trying to make our plans work. So we hold tightly to the things we value-our career, our reputation, our temporarily happiness, our health, our children, our education, our wealth, our possessions, even our mates. We even hold tightly to life itself. But those things we hold so tightly never really belonged to us. They always belonged to God. He loaned them to us and when the time comes, he will take them back again. A Simple Prayer Here’s a simple prayer that may help you loosen your grip on the things with which you are struggling: Father, may your will be done in my life. Nothing more Nothing less Nothing else