Whose Will?

Read: Matthew 6:9-13

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10, NIV

IN WORD

We read the lines of Scripture without realizing how often we read between the lines. Virtually everyone does; we have our notions of what Jesus meant from what we’ve been taught or from the worldview we grew up with. So to what Jesus trained His followers to pray, “Your will be done,” we often add a qualifier: “Your will (as opposed to mine) be done.” We assume this is an inherent denial of self.

It can be that, of course. After all, it foreshadows His own prayer in Gethsemane: “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine” (Matthew 26:39). But Jesus’ prayer has broader implications. We could justifiably read it with other qualifiers too: “Your will (as opposed to Satan’s) be done,” or “Your will (as opposed to ungodly people’s) be done.” In truth, this prayer is a contradiction to any will other than God’s, and we encounter a wide range of such contradictions from a variety of sources. The world, the flesh, and the devil are opposed to God. But may their will never be done. All we are going for in this prayer is God’s will.

IN DEED

This prayer is about more than submission to the Father’s will. It’s a battle cry against everything that is wrong in this world. It’s an assertive enforcement of the divine will over and above everything that contradicts it. When we pray for God’s will to be done, we are issuing a Kingdom proclamation against the evil one, against the ways of the fallen world, and against the rebellious spirit that plagues the human race. We are calling for the Kingdom in every situation in which the fullness of the Kingdom has not yet come. And we are praying according to God’s will.

Pray persistently and aggressively. Insist that the will of the Father be revered, both in visible and spiritual realms. You have a list of what to pray for; now add some things to pray against. Pray for whatever doesn’t look like God’s Kingdom to go and for His will to be done.

ADDITIONAL READING: Ephesians 6:10-20

Prayer is the mightiest of all weapons that created natures can wield.

MARTIN LUTHER