“He went away from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down and prayed, ‘Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.’” —Luke 22:41–42
In these verses, we see Jesus modeling what He taught His disciples about prayer:
“So pray this way: ‘Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’” —Matthew 6:9–10
I am reminded of Paul’s words to us in Romans regarding God’s will for our lives:
“Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.” —Romans 12:2
God’s will for our lives is always good and well-pleasing and perfect—whether we are able to ascertain that through our emotions and feelings or any other of our senses. God has prepared profitable, useful, and beneficial things for each one of us and it is His desire for us to walk in them.
“For we are his creative work, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we can do them.” —Ephesians 2:10
When we do not submit to God’s will for our lives, we do ourselves a disservice. Our prayers should echo that of King David:
“Teach me to do what pleases you, for you are my God. May your kind presence lead me into a level land.” —Psalms 143:10
Like Jesus, David’s prayers were based on his trust in God. David not only wanted to be shown God’s will for his life but also to be taught how to stand firm in it—knowing with certainty God’s way was for his ultimate good and for the good of others. In our frailty, being both lame and blind (not to mention dull), we would often choose wrong paths simply because of ease and comfort not to mention fleshly desires and lust.
Famous hymn writer Fanny Crosby was blinded at the age of six weeks by a doctor’s careless treatment. In her autobiography, Fanny Crosby’s Life Story, she wrote: “It seemed intended by the blessed Providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank Him for the dispensation.” The doctor who destroyed her sight never forgave himself and moved from the area, but Fanny Crosby held no ill will toward him. “If I could meet him now,” she wrote, “I would say ‘Thank you, thank you’—over and over again—for making me blind.” In fact, she claimed that if she could have her sight restored, she would not attempt it. She felt that her blindness was God’s gift to her so that she could write songs for his glory. “I could not have written thousands of hymns if I had been hindered by the distractions of seeing all the interesting and beautiful objects that would have been presented to my notice.”
What an amazing testimony! How often I flee from the difficult; seeking relief, desiring ease, rather than embracing what is allowed in order for God to make me into the image of Jesus Christ. Filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit, how much better to prefer our lives to be beautiful songs played for His glory than to delve into the pleasures of this world for a short time.
Become More
“Somehow in the wonder-working providence of God, our worst problems become our best pulpits. God turns our tragedies into testimonies and our emergencies into evangelism. Our testimonies are forged and crafted in the trials of life, our pain has an evangelistic purpose, our problems become His pulpits, and the things that happen to us turn out for the furtherance of the gospel.” —Robert J. Morgan
“How it pays to take one step at a time with God!” —Isobel Kuhn
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind imagined, are the things God has prepared for those who love him.” —1 Corinthians 2:9
Further Reflection
“Enable me to do what is pleasing to you; give me that grace that is necessary to the right knowledge of your will, and an acceptable obedience to it, that we may neither displease God in anything we do nor be displeased at anything God does.” —Matthew Henry
“God always gives His very best to those who leave the choice with Him.” —Hudson Taylor