Thy Will Be Done

 

In this manner, therefore, pray:  Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.  Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. ~Matthew 6:9-10

There are only two kinds of people in the end:  those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done."  All that are in Hell, choose it.  Without that self-choice there could be no Hell.  No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it.  Those who seek find.  To those who knock it is opened. ~C. S. Lewis, The Great Divorce.

The Lord's Prayer.  We recite it every Sunday in church.  It's probably one of the first prayers we memorize as children.  The words, said repeatedly, are comforting and familiar to each of us.

But the problem arises when these words become nothing more than rote when saying them out loud.  We speak corporately out of habit, not taking time to reflect upon what we are actually espousing with each uttered phrase.  It is, indeed, a slippery slope for Christians, young and old.

When we pray that God's will be done, do we mean it?  Do we really believe it, or do we secretly think His will should be done only if it aligns with our hopes, our dreams, our expectations?  If that's the case, we are confining ourselves to our own lonely, isolated perspective where we deem our needs and desires to be more important than what God wills for our lives and for the lives of those we love.

Tragically, this whole misconception leaves God and His sovereignty out of the equation altogether.  That idea alone should shake us to our very core.  Because the evil one craves nothing more than to work to separate us from the God we profess to love and worship.  The devil sees that narcissistic chink in our armor as an opportunity to worm his way into our hearts and minds.

St. Paul proclaims in Romans 8:39 that nothing can separate us from God's love.  I agree.  But God created us with free will; we can choose His way or the highway at any given juncture.  As C. S. Lewis states above, all that are in Hell choose it.

As we prepare here in the States to celebrate Thanksgiving this week, I challenge all of you to take time to rediscover the Lord's Prayer.  Examine each turn of phrase.  Ask yourself if you wish for God's kingdom to reign on earth as it does in heaven, or do you prefer your own little kingdom of one to prevail?

I have no doubt you will come to the right conclusion.

Amen!