“When Jesus taught His disciples to pray,” Stan commented one morning while we waited for breakfast, “there were many things He said that are important for my prayer life, but there’s one that stands out above all the others for me.”
“What’s that?” I asked.
“The use of ‘Thy’ and not ‘my’, when He taught about whose will is going to be done on earth.”
“Oh,” I replied, “Jesus said to ask for His Father’s will to be done, not our own. That kind of puts prayer in perspective.”
“Kind of puts it in perspective?” Stan asked with a smile. “For me, it’s the perspective I am to have with my prayers. Seems to me that Jesus not only taught that, He lived it.”
“In what way?”
“Just look at how He prayed when He was in the Garden of Gethsemane,” Stan replied. “Jesus asked His Father to remove what He was facing in going to the cross, but the bottom-line is that Jesus said, ‘Your will, not mine’.”
“If that’s what we are supposed to do, is there any magic solution for how to do that?” I asked.
“Nothing magic about it,” Stan replied. “For me, it’s a matter of realizing and acknowledging that God already knows what’s on my heart, that He wants me to know what’s on His, and the best way to find that out is to ask Him to show me.”
“As simple as that?” I asked.
“As simple as that,” Stan replied. “But always remember that just because it’s simple, it doesn’t mean it’s easy. Too often I’m too eager to tell God things He already knows, but if I’m quiet before Him and truly listen, He will share with me what’s on His heart. He will show me His will and how to align mine with His.”
“So that ‘thy’ and ‘my’ become the same thing,” I said. “Is that it?”
“Bingo and amen, my friend,” Stan replied with a smile.
__________________________________________
Bible verses to consider:
Your Father knows what you need, before you ask Him. Pray, then, in this way, “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:8-9.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. Matthew 6:32.
Father, if Thou art willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Thine be done. Luke 22:42.
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt.” Matthew 26:39.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, that you allow me to come before you in prayer. Thank you, too, that you know what’s on my heart before I ever come before you. I confess that too often I spend too much time telling you things you already know, when what you want me to know is what’s on your heart. Please forgive me for not seeking your will. Please help me in my prayers so I come before you to truly seek your will for every part of this life you have given me to live, to truly make your will my will. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: When you pray, do you spend too much time telling God things He already knows, rather than seeking to know what’s on His heart so His will is accomplished in and through you? If you sense the need for change in how you approach God in prayer, how is that change going to happen so you seek His will, not your own? So you make your will the same as His? Is that what you want? Why or why not?
Waiting for the Train 