Mensa Otabil - Seek God's Will
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Well, this is day number four of our 40 days of power. And I trust that you’re getting into the swing of things as you wait on the Lord and as you pray. Please be part of the prayer effort. Be part of your brothers and sisters who are praying together at this time. Don’t just fast, but let us fast and pray. So, we’re still talking about God’s guidance as we seek His face.
Luke chapter 22, verses 41 to 42: «And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and he knelt down and prayed, saying, 'Father, if it is your will, take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.'» It’s always a very sobering thought to read this scripture as we watch Jesus Christ in prayer and to hear the words that He is using. In the Lord’s prayer, He told us what we should be saying. But now we’re hearing what He is saying, and what He’s saying is very close to what He says in the Lord’s prayer: «Not my will be done, but yours be done,» the end of all prayer.
When we pray, all that we want in prayer is for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. We don’t pray for our will to be done. We don’t pray that our will be manifested, although we have a will. But our prayer should always desire that the will of God be manifested. Nothing in our prayer should so focus on us that when God is leading us in another direction, we will resist Him. Prayer and fasting help us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. Prayer and fasting help us to yield to the Lord. And as we yield to Him, His will becomes easier for us. Naturally, most people don’t like to do the will of God.
Most Christians don’t want to do the will of God. We want to do our will. We want to do the things that please us. And although sometimes we say, «Lord, let your will be done,» we don’t fully mean it. But if we’re going to receive guidance from the Lord, then His will should be done, whether His will seems or sounds palatable to us or not. Because in the end, we should be able to tell the Lord, «Lord, you know, I trust your will for my life. Even if I don’t think it feels good, I still want to do it.» Because if we want to know the direction God wants us to go in, then submitting to His will is the foundation of knowing the will of God.
So do you want to know the will of God for your life? Do you want to know what He wants you to do next? Do you want to know what He wants you to do next month or next year? If you want to marry, do you want Him to guide you to make the right choice? If you want all of those choices, then you must be ready to let your own will go down so that the will of God gains the ascendancy. And it’s important, when we’re talking about the will of God, to know that nothing in the will of God contradicts His word. The will of God and the word of God are in agreement.
So as we seek the will of God, it’s also important for us to know the word of God because the mind of God is expressed in the scriptures. In the totality of scriptures, not just one isolated verse, but the full revelation of the scripture is the will of God for our lives. So as we wait on the Lord, we must submit our will to the Lord and we must know His word so that when He reveals His word to us, we can understand it in the context of the scriptures. The Holy Spirit is our helper in all of these things.
You know, when we give our lives to Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. He holds us. He guides us. We have the Holy Spirit. We have all of the Holy Spirit. But the question is, does the Holy Spirit have all of you? We have all of Him. Does He have all of us? Because if He doesn’t have all of us, then He can’t guide us. He can’t lead us, and we will always resist His guidance and His leading. And I pray that God will help each one of us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit in this time of consecration. So that when He guides us, His will will be done in our lives as it is in heaven.
Let us pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, I submit to your plans and purposes for me. Let your perfect will be done in my life in Jesus' name. Amen.»