Not My Will But Thine

I recently posted a status update on Facebook which said: "Asking God to answer your prayers YOUR way instead of according to HIS WILL, is like being satisfied with a old wrecked car instead of having a brand new model. YES, you'll still have a car but not what you COULD have had. "Isaiah 55:8-9 “For MY thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways MY ways,” says the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are MY ways higher than your ways, And MY thoughts than your thoughts.""

After I had posted this I received this beautifully worded comment on it:

"I learned this truth very painfully when my brother/friend passed on to Glory on January 8th,2013. For 3 years I stood beside him praying,believing that our God had healed him and that even IF my brother passed away God would bring himback. I accepted absolutely no doubt from myself or anyone else. I prayed,I fasted,I claimed God's promises I just truly believed that God would restore my brothers health. But He didn't and I painfully struggled with this for almost one year. Laurie, Isa.55:8;9 is what my Lord gave me in that year of grieving and wondering what went wrong. I even blamed myself,thinking that maybe my faith wasn't strong enough, or maybe I didn't pray hard or long enough,but I know now that those thoughts were from the evil one,Satan. I have learned much through this huge loss in my life and 3 of the things I have learned is....God's thoughts and ways are way higher than ours. He knows not only the beginning and the end but the in between as well and last but not least I have learned to always pray...Father God, not my will but Yours be done! I do not know why God didn't answer my prayer of faith but I know now that. FATHER KNOWS BEST."

This person has walked her faith. She understands that God loves her and He knows best. This is how I responded to her comment:

"Praying God's will is so beautifully illustrated in 2 Samuel 12. David was a man after God's own heart. He prayed and fasted for his son for 7 days and yet the child died. But even after his prayers weren't answered the way he would have liked them to be David still praised the Lord and served Him. We will never understand the ways of God but we still trust, we still have faith and we still hope in Him. My prayers are with you."

We live in a world where there are many versions of the Truth flying around. One TV preacher spouts off that you can have anything you want in this life, while another tells you that all you have to do is believe hard enough, have enough faith and God will bend to your will and give you what you want. Oh, they don't necessarily use those words but they're there in their message. It can become so confusing to the child of God who is in a trial and wondering what to do. 

Let me simplify the message: God is God and you are not. No matter what mantra you chant or how many prayer beads you pray or what Scripture you recite God's will is the most important, not yours. Jesus knew this when He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane "not my will but Thine be done" (Mark 14:36). Even though He knew what had to be done He wasn't looking forward to it and asked if it could be taken from Him, but He taught us how to pray when He prayed "nevertheless not my will but Thine be done". If Jesus Himself could surrender His will to that of the will of the Father, can we not do the same?

We've fallen into the trap of thinking we understand how God works and we can't! He's God and we're not. There is no magic formula to get God to give you everything you want. What kind of a Father would He be if He answered every prayer exactly how we wanted Him to? Not a very good one for sure. He has promised to take care of us and we can trust Him to do so. He, alone, knows the beginning from the end. He, alone, knows what we need and what we only think we need. 

When we pray that the Father's will be done, we are praying perfectly. Jesus taught His disciples to pray this prayer, which we call The Lord's Prayer: 

Matthew 6:9-13

 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

If it was important enough for the disciples to pray that God's will be done, don't you think its important for us to pray this way too? Of course it is. If you are going through a rough time right now, you probably have many voices giving you advice, let me encourage you to quiet yourself before the Lord and pray that His will be done. When we pray this way, we are approaching the Father as a little child completely trusting Him to take care of our situation. His will be done. God bless.