“10 ...Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Earlier this year, Bethany and I signed our living will at a lawyer’s office. We needed to select different family members to make decisions for us in the event we could no longer make such decisions. Someone will make medical, life and death decisions for me in the event that I cannot. Someone will exercise authority over my finances in the event that I cannot. Their decisions will be counted as my decisions. When you sign that living will, you say, ‘Whatever she wants done, I want done.’
That is a staggering level of trust and yet it is small in comparison with the trust you must show in God the Father when you pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
You are telling God that whatever He wants done is what you want done. You are telling God that whatever He wants done is what you want to do. Can you say that – ‘Father, whatever You want, that’s what I want’? ‘Father, whatever you want done, that’s what I want to do’?
Surrendering your will is hard. It’s easy for any Christian to see why other people should pray, “Your will be done.” It’s hard when you are the one praying it. It’s hard because it’s your life and God is calling you to complete surrender. It’s hard surrender, but it’s a glad surrender.
Praying, “Your will be done,” is a hard but glad surrender. That’s the claim of this sermon: praying, “Your will be done,” is a hard but glad surrender.
The will of God is no simple matter because God is all powerful. Nobody wonders whether a tornado that destroys a home is my will. ‘Why would Pastor Adam allow that?’ People wonder why it was God’s will. Nobody wonders whether a stroke is a patient’s will. ‘Why would she let that happen?’ People wonder why it is God’s will. ‘Why would He let that happen?’
What we call the will of God is further complicated because we have the right to refuse God’s will. God says, “do not steal.” That is His will and yet people do steal. It wouldn’t be complicated if you were talking about people refusing my will. I’m not all powerful. God is all powerful and yet people can disobey His will.
The will of God is a complicated matter, and if you are His child you know that. You wonder why you suffer certain things in God’s will and in other moments you wonder God has given you more than you deserve. You wonder why God makes certain commands and you also wonder why He doesn’t simply make you obey His will. All this is wrapped up in the prayer, “Your will be done,” and we need some help untangling it.
Our first point is about God’s sovereign will. This is the way we talk about God’s providence. When Christians say, ‘nothing happens by chance,’ they are talking about God’s sovereign will. Jesus is going to train us to pray for that will to be done.
Our second point is about God’s revealed will. This is the way we talk about God’s commands. Christians talk about the will of God for holy living. Jesus is going to train us to pray that we would do that will.
Those are our two points: sovereign will and revealed will. First: the Father’s sovereign will. Second: the Father’s revealed will.
First: the Father’s sovereign will. Nothing in your life has happened by chance. The apostle Paul tells us that God, “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.”
The Belgic Confession, one of the doctrinal standards of this church, agrees, “We believe that this good God, after He created all things, did not abandon them to chance or fortune but leads and governs them according to His holy will, in such a way that nothing happens in this world without His orderly arrangement.”
We Christians don’t believe in fate or chance. We believe in the will of God. James urges us to think about our future this way, “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”
Jesus tells us that the Father’s sovereign will should give us comfort. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So, don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
You see this sovereign will worked out in many places in Scripture. You see it in the life of Joseph. His brothers sold him into slavery and told their father that he was dead. Joseph was enslaved and then imprisoned for years before God used him to save many lives from famine. As Joseph told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
You see God’s sovereign will in the life of Ruth who moved to the Promised Land after her husband died. She didn’t just happen to start working in the fields of an eligible bachelor named Boaz who wound up marrying her. That was the will of God.
God told the exiles in Babylon that He had a plan for them. He was working out His will for their good. “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity.”
Paul spoke of God’s plan, His sovereign will, for everyone who trusts Christ. “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
We give our, ‘Amen,’ to this will, when we pray, “Your will be done.” That’s hard because we don’t know all the specifics of God’s will for the future.
It’s hard to pray, “Your will be done,” if your spouse has cancer because you know what you want done. It’s hard to pray, “Your will be done,” when you feel as though you are on the edge of trouble because you know how you want things to turn out.
This is where we must remember to whom we are praying. We are praying to our Father in heaven. He knows what we need before we ask for it. He knows what is best. Remember, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
Unless you are convinced that the Father’s will is superior to your will, relinquishing your will is insane. Are you convinced that the Father’s will is wiser than yours? That’s the only way you can pray, “Your will be done,” with integrity.
Praying, “Your will be done,” with integrity often means praying it through tears. Praying, “Your will be done,” months after your husband’s funeral is certainly obedience even you are blubbering the words. Praying, “Your will be done,” with integrity during a panic attack is certainly obedience even if it is filled with cold sweat.
Praying, “Your will be done,” is hard but think about the alternative. What is the alternative to telling the Father that you are willing to submit to His will? The alternative is telling the Father that you are unwilling to submit to His will. If you do that, you will only find yourself fighting against God. You aren’t going to win that battle of wills and you will rip yourself apart in the process.
It can take time to submit to God’s will. It can take time and prayer. “Your will be done,” is only the third petition of this prayer but you might first pray it honestly three years into your battle with Chron’s. You might first pray it honestly thirty months into a troubled pregnancy. You might first pray it honestly after thirty years of singleness.
When you do pray, “Your will be done,” honestly, you will find it is a glad surrender. That’s what Hudson Taylor found, “Let us give up our work, our thoughts, our plans, ourselves, our lives, our loved ones, our influence, our all, right into [God’s] hand,” he said, “and then, when we have given all over to Him, there will be nothing left for us to be troubled about, or to make trouble about.”
That’s true for whatever future you are facing this morning. When you have given it to Him, there will be nothing left for you to be troubled about or make trouble about. When you pray, “Your will be done,” you rest in the Father’s sovereign will. The alternative is worry. This prayer is glad surrender.
It’s also a prayer of agreement with His revealed will. That’s our second point: the Father’s revealed will.
Scripture also regularly refers to God’s commands as His will. God’s will is what He requires. Jesus said, “Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.’” Paul told the Ephesian elders, “I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.” The author of Hebrews said, “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.”
You are to pray that you might do the Father’s will—to remember what He would have you remember, to think as He would have you think, to desire as He would have you desire, to do as He would have you do. “Your will be done.”
Here are five truths to keep in mind as you pray for this will to be done. First, if you are going to pray, “Your will be done,” you must want to do the Father’s will. You can’t sincerely pray, “Your will be done,” if you have no intention of doing it.
If you are distant from your wife this morning and planning on staying that way, you can’t sincerely pray “Your will be done,” because the Father’s will for you is clear, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” If you want to pray, “Your will be done,” you have to sincerely want to do His will.
If you are disobeying your parents this morning and don’t plan on repenting, you can’t sincerely pray, “Your will be done,” because the Father’s will for you is clear, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”
If you are going to pray, “Your will be done,” with integrity you must want to do the Father’s will. If you don’t want to do the Father’s will, praying “Your will be done” becomes worse than meaningless. “It is,” says à Brakel, “no more than a rattling off… in the presence of the majestic, omniscient, and holy God. How do you dare?”
Second, if you are going to pray, “Your will be done,” you must want it wholly. You can’t avoid pornography but ogle the Sports Illustratedswimsuit edition and pray, “Your will be done,” with integrity. You can’t stop lying blatantly but keep fudging the truth and pray, “Your will be done,” with integrity. You can’t stop gossiping unless the gossip is good and pray, “Your will be done,” with integrity. This morning is an opportunity for you to repent of lingering sin so you can pray, “Your will be done,” with integrity. The Father sanctifies each of His children so we pray this prayer with more integrity.
If your attitude towards God’s will is, ‘what is the bare minimum I can do to be okay?’ your attitude certainly isn’t prayerful. That’s not the attitude of, “Your will be done.”
Third, if you are going to pray, “Your will be done,” you must do so with a sense of reverence. We see reverence in the phrase, “on earth as it is in heaven.” Listen to this picture of heaven, God’s throne room. “As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.”
Can you imagine the Ancient of Days commanding one of those ten thousand times ten thousand to do His will and that chosen one saying, ‘You know, I’ve got a thing…’? Can you imagine the Ancient of Days commanding Gabriel, ‘go tell this young woman named Mary that she will bear my Son,’ and Gabriel responding, ‘are you sure about her?’
No, those in God’s unmediated presence obey with a sense of awe and reverence. You cannot imagine them disobeying. You are called to obey here the way the angels obey in glory. That’s the manner of your obedience to God’s will. That’s how you should pray, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Fourth, if you are going to pray, “Your will be done,” you must pray it with trust that the Father’s will is good. If I see God’s will as callous or tyrannical, I will see Him as a slave driver imposing His will on me. If I see Him as my Father, I will see His will as something that will be good for me and therefore can be trusted.
Let’s look at a very hard case. Hebrews 11:17, “By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, even though God had said to him, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.”
Abraham was asked to obey this bewildering will of God. He was willing, in effect, to say, “Your will be done” and follow God’s will because he trusted that God’s will was somehow for his good and for Isaac’s good. If that’s true for such a hard case, it is certainly true for our easier cases. Do you believe the Father’s commands are for your good?
Fifth, if you are going to pray, “Your will be done,” you must be willing to do it soon. Here’s the account of Abraham again. “Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!’ ‘Here I am,’ he replied. Then God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, whom you love - Isaac - and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.’ Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey.”
Abraham didn’t say to himself, ‘God didn’t tell me when. Obeying eventually is just the same as obeying now.’ No, “early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey.”
When you tell your child ‘stop hitting your friend,’ you don’t mean, ‘give him three more good punches and then stop.’ You mean, ‘stop hitting him now.’ When you tell your child, ‘clean that up off the floor,’ you don’t mean, ‘wander around for fifteen minutes until you think I’ve forgotten what I told you.’ You mean, ‘clean it up now.’ When you tell your child to apologize you don’t mean, ‘spend the next day working up to an apology.’ You mean, ‘say and mean I’m sorry right now.’ If that’s what we fallen human parents mean when we express our will, how much more does our Father in heaven deserve immediate obedience?
Praying, “Your will be done,” can be hard because obeying God’s word can be hard. God calls me to flee sins I have come to enjoy. God calls me to difficulties I would rather avoid.
If you want to see the will of God put into practice, look at Jesus. He said, “I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me.”
He obeyed His Father’s will. He did good to those in need. “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” He loved sinners and called them to repentance because he loved them. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” He suffered and died for their sins.
In Jesus we see the two uses of the word ‘will’ come together perfectly. We see the Father’s sovereign will, His plan for the cross, and His revealed will, His command for His Son to die on the cross, come together. Both were in Jesus’ mind when he prayed, “if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
That’s a hard prayer but think of the good that came out of it for you. If you are justified by Christ’s blood, your salvation came out of the truth of that prayer. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation because of what happened after that prayer. Don’t diminish the importance of, “Your will be done.”
If you are a Christian, you are called to pray this prayer, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Maybe that’s a hard for you this morning. Maybe it is a hard prayer because the Father’s revealed will, His command, is clear and His sovereign will, His ordering of life, makes keeping that command look difficult. Maybe it is a hard prayer because you know His revealed will, His command, but you have no idea how it will work out. The Father will help you turn your will into His will. We see that in Paul’s words in Philippians 2, “it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.”
If you are a Christian, pray that the Holy Spirit would work in you so that you want what the Father wants and that you would be content to have His plan unfold.
To pray that prayer picture Christ praying in Gethsemane, “Your will be done.” His anguish is so deep that He sweats drops of blood. Can you watch Him pray that prayer and then dare to tell the Father, “not Your will but mine be done?” If so I want you to consider that praying, “Your will be done,” is difficult this morning because God might not be your Father. You now recognize that you don’t really want to do His will and you don’t like the idea of Him unfolding His plan without your approval. You’ve grown up in the church or outside the church, but you are coming to see that your life, even what you might call your Christian life, is really about you and your only honest prayer is, ‘my will be done.’
If that is you, you need to know that your will, what you want for life and what you want to do, will only lead to disaster. “There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end, it leads to death.” Friend, I don’t want that for you but that is what is coming unless you can honestly pray, “Your will be done.” You can’t pray that on your own. You need to be born again. You need to be born of the Holy Spirit. Pray, “God, I have lived my life to please myself. If you don’t help me, I will keep living to please myself and that can only end in disaster because I will meet You without any hope of salvation. Grab ahold of me and make me Your own. Help me pray, “Your will be done.”
Give up your will. Give up your right to yourself. Give yourself to God. That is glad surrender. Amen.