How to pray in God's will

I was wondering the other day…When the disciples learned that Jesus was going to be unjustly crucified, did they pray against it? 

Did the disciples pray that Jesus would not be crucified?  Did they think that it could not possibly be the will of God because in their limited thinking, all they saw was that they were losing their Rabbi, their Master, their Friend - the Messiah.

Why would God want their Messiah to be crucified?  That didn't make sense.  Even though Jesus told them over and over about His mission, His purpose - that He was to be sacrificed for the sins of the world, that He would die but be raised up again in three days - they still didn’t seem to fully accept or understand it.

The disciples were privy to these glorious truths, told to them directly by Jesus Himself.

Nonetheless, when Jesus actually fulfilled the Scriptures’ prophecy by His death, the disciples were heartbroken.  They were confused.  Perhaps they thought in terms of "good" and "bad" and they could not fathom how Jesus' death could be a good thing, not for Him or for themselves.

I have no way of knowing how the disciples prayed during this time.  But let's just say that they may have prayed against it, that they cried out to God to make it all stop so that Jesus was not crucified.  So that He could go on healing people, teaching them, performing miracles.

Even though Jesus told them He was not there to set up an earthly Kingdom, that His Kingdom was not of this world, I'm guessing that maybe they had some lingering hopes that maybe He would be who they expected or wanted Him to be.

We all do this, don't we?  We learn of some impending travesty, whether it is news of a loved one dying, or a medical report about ourselves, or any bad news, and our first response is usually that God would intervene to stop it, to heal, to provide.  Anything but actually endure pain and suffering.

So how do we respond and make sure that we are praying in God's will about such matters, and not simply praying for relief, deliverance, or an outcome that would allow things to go on the way we like?

We model Jesus.  

While Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed like we do at first.  "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me." Jesus is God but He was also fully human.  He did not want to be crucified, suffer that excruciating agony.  This was Jesus praying for God to change His plan, His will, if at all possible.

But then...

Jesus surrendered His will to His Father's will because He trusted Him.  "Yet not as I will, but as You will," He prayed.

That is what we are to model in our prayers and attitude.

God has a will.  We are told in Scripture that it is good, pleasing, and perfect (see Romans 12:2).  So when "bad" things happen, how can we possibly see them as good?

We can pray to be able to see God’s perspective.  He sees the big picture. 

We have the privilege of being able to always be honest with God - He can take it.  "Lord, how could You allow this?"  "Why is this happening?"

Jesus lived a perfect life.  He committed no sin.  Ever.

So when we live our lives according to God's will as best we can, loving, serving, trusting, and obeying Him, we can wonder what He is up to when bad things happen in our lives and around us.

We are allowed to wonder.  We are allowed to question, doubt, even get angry with God.  Again, He can take it.

But when it's all said and done, if we want to maintain our relationship with God, let alone maintain our sanity, then we come back to Him.  We surrender our wills for His, trusting that He truly knows best. 

So the best way I know to pray in God's will is to pray for His will to be done.  "Lord, I don't like this. Not one bit.  I would not have allowed this to happen, but You have.  So I relinquish my will, what I think is 'right' and ‘good,’ and pray that instead Your will be done -- whatever Your will may be."

When you pray for God's will to be done, you are free.  You will feel the weight that you have been carrying lift off of you.  You surrender.  You let go.

Not as a cop out. Not with a "Whatever" mentality.  But with faith in the God who does all things well, who loves us more than we could ever imagine, and who sees the big picture from beginning to end.

These are not merely words to help you cope.  They are towers for you to enter into; fortresses of strength where the evil one cannot harm you or make matters worse for you.

In the thick of it, there will be much pain.  I cannot imagine the pain that Jesus' mother, Mary, endured while watching her beloved Son die on a cross.  Same with Jesus' beloved disciple, John, who was the only disciple there with Him to the end. 

We will experience grief in this life.  But we have the hope of heaven.  We have the hope of being reunited with our loved ones precisely because of Jesus' death and resurrection.  We can cling to our faith, cling to Jesus.  We can let the Holy Spirit minister to us.

We need the love and care of our Heavenly Father.  We need a Savior.  We need Jesus.

Only He gives us the comfort we need.  Only He carries us.  Only He provides everything we need in order to live our lives in His will.

So when we suffer, see loved ones suffer, or are just plain hurting, we can rest assured that there is a God who loves us, cares for us, and whose will is good, pleasing, and perfect.  We only need surrender to Him and trust His will in all things.

Oh Lord.  You are omniscient.  You have perfect reasons for why You cause or allow "bad things" to happen.  Like Your disciples, we can become disheartened, short-sighted, and discouraged.  But then, like Your disciples met You after Your resurrection, we can know You, have hope, and have joy in life once again!  Your death was not the end of the story, but only the beginning!  So when we experience deaths of any kind, Lord, whether literal or otherwise, thank You that You are there for us.  Thank You that we can trust You.  Thank You that You will carry us through.  Thank You that we will still see Your goodness in the land of the living.  Thank You for Your will. Your will be done, Lord. Amen.

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