Word of Encouragement (3/19/2021)
Today, let’s reflect on the third petition in the Lord’s Prayer as we continue to talk about what we should pray for: “your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10).
As fallen sinners, no prayer is more instinctive than to pray, “My will be done!” But a moment’s reflection will show that there is nothing more logical, more beneficial for us to pray than to pray, “Your will be done!” If God is God—absolutely sovereign, all-powerful, all-wise, and all-good—then, His will should take precedence over our will. After all, how good and wise is our will? Do we know what is really good for us? Our analysis of the past is inaccurate, our assessment of the present is incomplete, and our knowledge of the future is insufficient. As such finite, limited creatures, do we dare God what He should do for us? C.S. Lewis said, “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in Hell, choose it.”
But what did Jesus mean by “Your will”? In theology, we speak of God’s revealed will and secret will. God’s revealed will refers to the Scriptures (which is God’s self-revelation), particularly to God’s Law (which tells us “what God requires of man”). God’s secret will obviously refers to the hidden counsel of God, on account of which everything happens, which includes the things that are contrary to God’s revealed will. For example, God commanded by His revealed will that we should not murder. But that horrible crime is committed every day in many places throughout the world. Are these things outside of God’s sovereign control? No. If that were the case, how can we trust God in all things—both in good times and bad times, in fortune and tragedy? The Bible makes it clear that God, in His infinite wisdom, allows these things to happen by His secret will to accomplish His purpose. One of His reasons is to show the sinfulness of sin and its terrible consequences.
What are we praying for in this third petition—are we praying that God’s revealed will be done or His secret will be done? Consider what Moses said regarding God’s revealed will and secret will: “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). He gives a wise counsel that we should not be concerned about God’s secret will, which belongs to God alone, because we are accountable only to God’s revealed will. When we seek God’s will or make decisions, we should do so according to God’s revealed will (marrying a believer, for example), not according to God’s secret will (marrying an unbeliever, thinking and hoping that God will make him/her a believer someday). If so, should we pray that God’s secret will be done (which includes even our sins) or God’s revealed will be done?
We should be grateful that the Scriptures reveal to us God’s will for our salvation. To pray this third petition is for God’s promised salvation to come to His people through the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ. And this petition was answered in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, do we need to pray this petition any longer? Of course! God’s revealed will is that we should walk in His statutes and be careful to obey His rules (Ezek. 36:27). To that end, God has provided for us the Holy Spirit. We should continue to pray that God’s (revealed) will should be done in our lives on earth as it is in heaven. Even as the angels of heaven and the saints who have gone before us obey God’s law (His revealed will) perfectly, we should desire the same for us, which will be fulfilled at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.