“May Your kingdom come soon; may Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
Man is the crowning glory of the creation of God. He was made in the image and likeness of God and given dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:26). His home was in the Garden of Eden, and in this Paradise there was no sin, no sickness, no pain, no suffering nor death. Before man chose to disobey God, all things moved in the orbit of God’s perfect will.
Man in the Garden made an evil choice and thus moved out of the will of God. God counter-moved to save man by sending Christ into the world to redeem him, so that in the end he should have all that Adam originally possessed and more too. Through Christ all was to be his for the asking.
Why is it then that so many of God’s children seem unable to appropriate the promise? Why is it that they fail so often in getting their prayers answered? Why do so few miracles happen in their lives? Why is it that no mountains are moved? Could it be that there is something missing, something lacking in their lives that deprives them of the benefit of the promise?
Sad is the story of those who day after day plaintively cry for this or that person to pray for them; who confess that God does not answer their prayers. That though they pray, seemingly nothing happens and their problems become greater and greater. What is wrong? Why are these people so beaten? Could it be that their life in some way is out of the revealed will of God?
God has promised us power to move mountains, but we must be sure that we move the mountains He wants moved. God never puts His power on display, nor does He give special demonstrations for the entertainment of the vulgar. The moving of a mountain is of no benefit unless it accomplishes a purpose in the will of God, and unless the act is motivated by a love for humanity. As Paul says, if we have faith to move mountains and have not love, we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13: 2).
In this we see the all important factor of the will of God. It is necessary that when we pray, “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven,” that we seek the will of God to be done in our life, as 1 John 5:14 says, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.” God has a pattern for the life of every person born into this world. For every creature made in the image and likeness of God there is a special purpose. The greatest moment in any Christian’s experience is when he discovers that purpose for his being on earth.
When a man finds the will of God for his life, then the powers of heaven and earth work for his good. As it is written, ‘ In all things God works for the good of them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8: 28). When a man becomes absolutely committed to the will of God, he will discover to his delight that the most vexing problems of life have a mysterious way of working themselves out. How does this happen? The God who made the planets, the sun, the moon, and the stars and who causes them to follow in their appointed path by His irresistible will, will cause all things in that person’s life to also follow in their proper orbit.
There are many things however, that we can pray for, that are not open to question in the matter of God’s will. At other times our prayer must be like the prayer of Christ when He said, “Not my will but thine be done” (Matthew 26: 39, 42, 44). One thing is certain, any revelation from God will never be contrary to what He has already revealed concerning His will. Therefore, every step we take must be committed to God. Not that God should bless our plans, but that we should seek God’s will and ask Him to bless us in doing His will for us.
Have a blissful week, having understood the secret of praying in the will of God, and praying accordingly.
Your brother, Vicar & Archdeacon
Igein Isemede