I pray for those who ask for me to
pray for them, for those who are sick and ask for prayers. Several people in
our church family need our prayers. I have friends and family members are battling cancer.
I pray asking for healing, hope, peace,
and God’s mercy in the struggles they face; and every prayer is a petitions God’s
will be done.
Many pray daily if not multiple
times a day: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy Kingdom
come; thy will be done….
Sometimes it takes a crisis to know God’s will.
The Syrian General Naaman was
stricken with Leprosy. He was in the need of prayers seeking to be healed. A Jewish
servant told him the LORD God of Israel’s prophet Elisha could heal him.
Naaman didn’t believe in the LORD
God. He didn’t believe Elisha could heal him. He thought to jump into the
Jordan River 7 times was ridiculous. Are
not the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not
wash in them and be cleansed?” He turned in anger and left.
Naaman must have been a decent man,
a lot of people were praying for him. He had a change of heart. Using the prophet
Elisha, God healed Naaman.
Naaman was a foreigner, not a
believer in the LORD. He scoffed at what he was told to do. Yet, it was God’s
will that he be healed. And,
Naaman came to know the LORD God and glorified him.
The Gospel tells us the time Jesus
healed the lepers. Jesus said go and show yourself to the priests.
Scripture says he healed 10, but
only one returned. One did not go. He was a foreigner. Because he was a foreigner,
probably a Samaritan, he couldn’t show himself to the priest. Yet, it was God’s
will that the Leper was healed. The Leper returned to Jesus, fell at his feet, and glorified God.
These scriptures tell that God
healed two foreigners, ones not of his chosen people. God healed those that the
Israelites and Jewish people would not consider worthy to be healed. Yet, these foreigners came to
know and love the LORD God.
It’s God’s way. It’s God’s will
that all the nations know his saving power. That is why we pray: God’s will be
done ….. We just need to realize the truth of God’s will.
God’s will is not that we are
healed. God’s will is not that we sin no more. God’s will is not that we become
wealthy or powerful or popular.
God’s will is far more achievable
than any of those things. God’s will is that we know him. And, God‘s will is
that we love him.
And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your
soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. (Mark 12:30)
People think there is more to it
than that. They think keep praying, asking for things, and God becomes a secret
weapon for what we think and need.
During the Civil War a minister
said to Abraham Lincoln, “Mr. President, let us pray God is on our side”.
Lincoln’s response was “No, let us pray that we are on God’s side.”
Our faith is not the tool to get
God to do what we want but an invitation to open ourselves to God’s will.
It surprises many that God’s will
is not about our wants.
Let not the wise boast of his wisdom, nor the strong boast of his
strength, nor the rich man boast of his riches; But rather, let those who
boast, boast of this, that they know me… (Jeremiah 9:23-24)
God’s will is not our wants.
When we pray, God’s will be done. We pray to know God and to love God in
Jesus Christ. We are praying this not only for us but for all nations and
peoples.
Finally, St. Paul teaches that to know
God and love God leads eternal life. If we have died with him we shall live
with him; if we persevere, we shall reign with him.
And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)
The prayer for God’s will be done
is a prayer for salvation. Friends for each of you, God’s will be done.
Be good, be holy, and preach the gospel
by the way you live your life and love one another. Amen.
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