The Lord’s Prayer: Your Will Be Done on Earth as It Is in Heaven

Amazon.com lists more than 25,000 books written about how to discover God’s will for your life. Christians throughout time have been frustrated trying to find the secret code or formula. A + B doesn’t equal C.

Jesus prayed for God’s will. He also told believers that he will grant whatever you pray according to God’s will. If God’s will is so important to the Christian faith, why does it feel so elusive?

Imagine yourself as the apprentice to a master painter such as Rembrandt. What if instead of applying the paint to the canvas himself, he talked you through every brushstroke attempting to paint his vision through your hands? How well would you do?

God has chosen to coach us through accomplishing his will. He teaches us about his will through the example of the heroes and heroines of the Bible. They are his masterworks.

If you travel to Paris or Rome, you’ll see art students of every age and ability level copying the work of the masters. They sit for hours in front of a painting at a museum to try to capture and understand what the artist is trying to accomplish. Some art students have sketchbooks full of hands as rendered by their favorite artists. They hope to capture the nuance of his or her work.

In the same way, you must become a student of the will of God and sit for hours watching the lives of the men and women of the Bible.

Questions to consider as you study the lives of Bible heroes:

When you pray for God’s will, you join Jesus in his prayers. At his darkest hour, he prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42 NASB).

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Ephesians 5:15–17 ESV

It is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

1 Peter 3:17 NIV

The most important aspect of pursuing the will of God is attitude. Micah 6:8 tells us the walking humbly with God is incredibly important. When frustration grows but you don’t understand the will of God, pull back, take a deep breath, and remember to humble yourself before him. Ask him to show you his will.

Think about a bottle of kids’ soap bubbles. When you pull out the wand, it drips with the thick, glistening liquid, but they don’t become bubbles until you gently blow behind the ring. Each day is like a ring of soap bubbles. Like the original creation, you must await the breath of God. Only then can you soar. Pray for his will to be done and get ready to fly.