The Lord’s Will Be Done

THE LORD’S WILL BE DONE

a prayer to open

Holy Spirit, come. Center my heart.

Fill my mind. Guide my steps.

After saying farewell to the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to the island of Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara. There we boarded a ship sailing for Phoenicia . . . and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship was to unload its cargo.

We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These believers prophesied through the Holy Spirit that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem. When we returned to the ship at the end of the week, the entire congregation . . . left the city and came down to the shore with us. There we knelt, prayed, and said our farewells. Then we went aboard, and they returned home.

The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed for one day. The next day we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven men who had been chosen to distribute food. He had four unmarried daughters who had the gift of prophecy.

Several days later a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea. He came over, took Paul’s belt, and bound his own feet and hands with it. Then he said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles.’” When we heard this, we and the local believers all begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”

After this we packed our things and left for Jerusalem.

This passage of Scripture feels a bit like a death march: Paul was on his final tour to say good-bye to those he discipled and loved. In each successive place, he was warned again of the suffering that awaited him in Jerusalem. In fact, we begin to feel as we did reading Luke’s account of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem (see Luke 18:31-34). Paul believed that his life would end as Jesus’ did, yet he was confident that he was to go to Jerusalem anyway. In the end, Paul’s friends, who believed he was making the wrong decision, relented and released him to God’s care, trusting and praying that God’s will would be done. When we’re able to see God at work in another person’s life, can we release our expectations and desires to bless them on their journey?

• Read this passage again. What word or phrase stands out to you? Sit quietly, reminding yourself that you are in God’s loving presence, and ask him to show you how that word or phrase connects to your life.
• Reflect on a situation or decision you are currently facing in which you don’t know the right way to go. How would you describe your feelings as you think about that situation or decision? Try praying each time the situation or decision comes to mind, just as the disciples did when they decided to release Paul: Make your desire known, and then ask that the Lord’s will be done.
• Is there someone in your life about to make a bad decision (maybe it’s destructive, the timing is wrong, or the decision doesn’t make sense)? What is your concern? Practice entrusting that person to God’s care, and even if he or she makes the “bad” decision, pray that the Lord’s will would be done.

Father, the hardest prayer to pray is that your will would be done. A battle rages in my heart and mind because of my own desires. Help me pray over my life, decisions, and relationships, “May your will be done.” And help me pray this same prayer over the lives and decisions of the people I love. Increase my trust in you and grow my faith. May your will be done. Amen.