Thursday, January 2, 2014

"...Thy Will Be Done..."



“I wish we were on the same page.”  This is a comment I hear in church, marriages, and as people talk about their relationship with God.  The desire is to be working from the same goals, desires, projects, etc.  In spiritual term, we want to be discerning and doing the will of God.  This desire should drive us to spend time in prayer with God continually.

Melanie and I have coffee time as often as we can.  This is a time when we sit down and discuss life stuff, heart stuff, and set our direction as a family.  When we meet regularly it is amazing how many difficult things can come up in life and we remain on course.  But if there is a period of time that life “gets in the way” of our coffee time, it is very predictable that life will get in the way of our relationship.  Have you had those times when things seem to just work, not because things go as planned, but because you have taken time to get on the same page with others?  This is the way relationships work.  Time spent together getting on the same page is essential to working from the same page.  I have found that it works in a similar way with God.  When time is spent with God in prayer regularly, it makes life work much more smoothly even though difficulties arise.

Jesus spent His “coffee time” with His Father on a regular basis, and His life reflected that relationship.  It served as an example to how our relationship with God and others should go.  Many times in the gospels we see Jesus retreat to pray.  In Mark 1:35-39 we see the demands of the people around Him did not throw Him off course.  He and His Father were on the same page.  When Jesus was teaching His disciples to pray, He taught them to say, “Thy will be done…”  Time in prayer puts you on the same page as God through submission to His will.  Prayer is listening to His will breathed into your life.  

This 40 day challenge in prayer should deepen your relationship with God, and in turn, should give you a clearer focus on His will in your life.  Begin with simply submitting to His will.  Ask for His direction.  Ask for His wisdom.  And listen in silence to His voice.  You may not have a great revelation at that moment, but over time together with God, He will place the pieces of our lives and hearts in the place that they should be.  Let's allow ourselves to get on the same page as our creator.

May God clarify His will for you as you spend time with Him in prayer.