His Will, Not Mine

There are some people who teach that we should never pray, “Not my will, but Yours be done,” because it supposedly voids what you have just prayed for. What nonsense. If Jesus prayed this, certainly we should follow His example. He gave us the same pattern in the Lord’s Prayer when He said, “May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10). I never need to be afraid to say, “Lord, Your will be done.”

Then there are those who say that we should only pray for something once; otherwise, we are demonstrating a lack of faith. Yet Jesus taught His disciples, “Keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened” (Luke 11:9). We give up far too easily sometimes.

We won’t always know the will of God in every situation. Then there are times when we will know the will of God, but we won’t like it. Finally, there are times when we will know the will of God, but we don’t understand it.

I like what the late D. L. Moody said, “Spread out your petition before God, and then say, ‘Thy will, not mine, be done.’ ” Moody concluded, “The sweetest lesson I have learned in God’s school is to let the Lord choose for me.” Have you found that to be true? We must never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.