"Thy Will Be Done" Not My Plan

Recently a new song has been playing on the radio.  "Thy Will Be Done" by Hillary Scott.  The first time I heard this song, it stopped me in my tracks!  I felt like I could have written the song myself, because of how well I could apply it to the events of the past 365 days.  Please take a listen before I continue.






Verse one talks about listening to God, and following His direction, only to end up in a place of confusion and hurt. And you're standing there asking God WHY!?! What did I do wrong!!!!

Verse two talks about living in that time of confusion and trying to figure out what happened. And how amazingly Awesome God is. One of my favorite lines in verse two: "just trying to make sense of all your promises... Sometimes I've got to stop. Remember that You're God, and I... am... not..."  I have definitely been in that place this past year.

Then there's the verse: "Thy Will Be Done..."  Those words have been something I have uttered a million times to God throughout my life. As many times as I have asked God for a husband, I have always ended my prayers with "Not my will, but Yours be done".  Thoughts have entered my mind that this prayer is why I don't have a husband right now... But these little seeds of thought are not of God.  God has the best plan for my life.  Nothing I do or come up with could match God's BEST PLAN for me.

The bridge says, "I know you see me, I know you hear me Lord, Your plans are for me, goodness You have in store..."  I have a hard time driving when I sing the bridge, for I just want to close my eyes and worship.   This is the truth.  Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord, 'Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and hope.'" The enemy tries to whisper in our ear that God isn't listening to our prayers, that He doesn't care about this "little thing" in our life, He has more important things to "worry" about.  All of these are lies.  The Bible warns us in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." (NASB) The Bible also tells us in John 10:10 that, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." (NASB)

Don't believe the devil's lies.  He has no authority anymore.  Jesus became our Redeemer when He died for us on the cross.  We don't have to believe the lie that satan is still in charge.  He's NOT.  Don't be afraid to listen to the Holy Spirit.  Don't be afraid to follow God's best plan for your life.  It will not look like the world. 1 John 2:15-17, "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever."  Notice that promise at the end: But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever."  That is what I want.  I want to please God.  

"Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven." -- Matthew 6:9-13

"Whatever" Your will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven

This morning I read Matthew chapter six.  In this chapter are many amazing teachings of Jesus.  One of which is the teaching about prayer.  Verses 8-13 are where “The Lord’s Prayer” come from.  Many of us know this prayer by heart, but I really enjoyed reading it in a different version than I have memorized it:

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him! Pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy. May your Kingdom come soon. May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” (NLT)
As I read, I began to pray this verse in my own words.  As I prayed, I noticed some things I have never noticed before.

1.    We pray that God’s Kingdom come before we say “Your will be done”
2.    This prayer isn’t really focused on any one particular person.  Jesus isn’t praying for the guy
       over there; and He isn’t “praying for Himself” either.
3.    He tells us in verse eight not to merely repeat our words over and over again.

Point number one stood out to me because, it seems that we are praying for God’s Kingdom to come for our own reasons.  We don’t want to go through the trials and tribulations of the book of Revelation.  This verse showed me that we are allowed to ask for things for ourselves, but need to remember to keep it under God’s control.  Your will be done above my own, Lord.  Even though I want to meet my husband so badly, I want Your plan for my life to take place even more so than that desire.

Point number two… I never noticed before that Jesus doesn’t really pray for all of His friends and family… Maybe when we do, we should add onto that prayer, “Your will be done”.  I think it is God’s will for everyone to go to Heaven to be with Him, so wouldn’t it be best to put it into His hands?

Point number three… I often feel guilty when I don’t pray for my unsaved friends and family over and over and over again… But verse eight says, “They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again. Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask Him!” My first experience talking to God occurred a long time ago.  I was doubting my salvation at the time.  That morning, I happened to be home alone, so I started my Bible time in the morning and asked God if I was saved.  Before I could even finish the question “Am I sav…” I heard a “YES”. As the day progressed, I spent most of it talking to God like I would any other person.  It was Awesome! During our “chat” I asked God if I needed to pray for the salvation of certain people in my life over and over again… I felt like He told me, “no”.  It has been over 15 years since that day, so I don’t remember exactly His answer… But it was something to the effect of, “I know exactly what you need even before you ask Me.” He was not telling me to stop asking altogether, but was freeing me from the burden of “religiously” having to pray for each person every day.  God knows our hearts.  He knows that I desire for my friend to come to know Him as his true Savior and Lord.  He knows that I desire for every one of my relatives to come to know Him.  He knows that I desire for my cousins to find their purpose in life, and to follow Him every step of the way.  He knows that I want to protect my friends and family from bad relationships…  He knows all of my thoughts and intentions.

Since this blog is called “Inspired by Lyrics”, it was only fitting that a particular song popped into my head regarding this morning’s topic: “Whatever” by Steven Curtis Chapman.  Please listen to the words carefully.  Can you truly tell God, I’ll do “Whatever” you say?  I’m working on it, but don’t know that I am there yet.

What do you get out of “The Lord’s Prayer”? Did anything stand out to you that you had not noticed before? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Blessings!

~ S*