Praying the Will of God

Praying the Will of God

Have you ever been in a situation where you wonder what you should pray?  I think we all have.  Praise God Jesus gives us excellent instruction in the Lord’s prayer:  “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”.  When it is not apparent to us what God’s will is, we can simply pray this prayer:  “Father, please let Your will be done in this situation.”  It is so simple yet powerful.


I pray this all the time for myself and my family, for us as a church, for our city and nation and the nations of the world.  After so many years as a believer, almost 49 now (!), I am convinced that God is answering this prayer for us even when it does not feel like it or seem to be the case.  God is in control and leading us nonetheless.

Let’s look at the whole prayer, Matthew 6:9-13, New King James Version:  “Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

What is God’s will?  The prayer itself gives us some answers.  It is God’s will to provide for our daily bread, so you should pray for that.  It is God’s will for you to ask for forgiveness from Him and to extend forgiveness to others, so you should not only pray that way but do it.  It is God’s will for us to overcome temptation and to be delivered from the enemy, so pray accordingly.  

Yesterday we looked at the Jehovah names of God.  These names reveal God’s will to us and enable us to pray.  Since God is Jehovah Rohi, our Shepherd, we can ask for His guidance and for Him to restore our souls (Psalm 23:3).  The name Jehovah Rapha, “I the LORD am your healer”, informs us that we should pray for each other to be healed.  God is Jehovah Shalom, our peace and well being, so we can pray this for both ourselves and each other.  Jehovah Nissi, God is our banner, means that along with Psalm 20:5 that we can pray to “shout for joy over your victory and lift up our banners in the name of our God”.  I think you get the idea.

Finally, whatever we see Jesus our Lord doing in the Gospels is bringing God’s kingdom to earth, and we can pray, and act, accordingly.  Jesus preached the truth.  He reached out to those society ignored and avoided.  He healed the sick and cast out demons.  He felt compassion for people and fed them.  He invited two men who were polar opposites politically, Simon the zealot and Matthew the tax collector, to be in His inner circle of 12 disciples.  Jesus loved everyone and taught us to do the same.  We should be praying along these lines.


Praise God His will is wonderful and good.  Father, let Your kingdom come and Your will be done in our lives and church!