So many times we rightly pray for God’s will to be done. Jesus was our example in this prayer (Matt. 6:10, 26:39), and I have heard the phrase uttered hundreds of times during my years as a Christian. I know I’ve definitely said it time and again when in communication with my Father, but as I was reading a verse yesterday, I wondered if I truly meant it.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 says, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” When you boil it down, the verse is simple: God desires everyone to be saved. So all those years of asking for God’s will to be done, in one instance we have a verse that tells us what God’s will is: for everyone to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. So, am I praying for God’s will and doing something toward that end – toward bringing others to a knowledge of His saving truth?
It’s pretty sad that I pray for God’s will to be done in my life, but I don’t accompany that with evangelistic actions. Not just sad, though, it’s hypocritical. Because to pray for God’s will to be done is to pray that more people will come into contact with Jesus’ saving blood (since that’s the only way people will be saved). But if I’m not doing my part (and we ALL have a part) to reach those people, am I praying for God’s will to be done in vain?!
This is an area that I struggle with, and I know I’m not alone, so let’s work together to spread the gospel message to all men. Let’s get out of our comfort zones and tell everyone we meet just what Jesus has done for us.
This week, East Hill has a lectureship going on, and I am learning more about our Father and how I can trust more fully in Him. I need this study, and I pray it will help me to work toward doing God’s will…which means I pray that I will have more opportunities to teach others about His love, mercy and precious promises.
Obviously it isn’t wrong to pray for God’s will to be done. It’s absolutely necessary! But let’s just ask ourselves if our words and our actions match up, and if not, let’s do the appropriate actions to make sure we aren’t offering our praise in vain.
