In Your Will, I Trust

 

We often pray because we believe prayer can change things. We pray because we believe God can change our circumstances, calm our storms, open doors that seem impossible to open, heal what is broken, and make a way where there seems to be no way.

And indeed, prayer can change our circumstances.

However, prayer is not only about asking God to change what is around us; it is also about allowing Him to change what is within us. Sometimes, before God changes our situation, He wants to change our hearts.

He wants to deal with our guilt and shame, our bitterness and unforgiveness, our anger, our habits, our thoughts, our jealousy, our envy, and our selfishness. He wants to teach us to become more like Christ.

We can sometimes become so focused on what we want that we forget that other people have needs too. We may pray for the rain without thinking about the person who desperately needs sunshine.

One person may pray for rain because their land needs water, while another may pray for sunshine because they need to work. One person may desire the night because they are exhausted and need rest, while another may desire the morning because they are strong and ready to work.

So, whose prayer should God answer? This reminds us that prayer is not simply about getting God to give us what we want. It is about learning to trust the One who sees what we cannot see.

This is why Jesus taught us to love our neighbor as ourselves.

When we pray for something, we should also ask ourselves: How will the answer to my prayer affect other people? Am I considering my neighbor? Am I truly loving others, or am I only concerned about what I want?

The Christian life is not simply about receiving everything we ask from God. It is about learning to surrender our desires to the will of God.

Look at Christ Jesus. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus faced the greatest suffering imaginable. He knew that pain, rejection, humiliation, and death were before Him. In His humanity, He expressed His desire that the cup of suffering might pass from Him.

Yet Jesus did not stop there. He prayed, as recorded in Luke 22:42:

“Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”

Those words reveal the heart of true surrender. Jesus placed the Father's will above His immediate desire for comfort. He understood that His mission was greater than His temporary suffering. He trusted the Father even when obedience meant walking through unimaginable pain.

Imagine if Jesus had chosen His own will instead of the Father's will. The mission He came to accomplish would not have been fulfilled in the way God had ordained it.

Even on the cross, Jesus cried out, as recorded in Matthew 27:46: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Yet He did not abandon His mission. He endured. He remained faithful. He held His position.

Christ is our example. He showed us that surrendering our will to God is not weakness. It is spiritual strength.

Therefore, when we fast and pray for something, let us not only say, “Lord, give me what I want.”

Let us also pray: “Lord, if You give me what I am asking for, how will it affect others? Is this truly Your will? Will this bring glory to Your name?” Sometimes God sees the bigger picture when we cannot. We see today; God sees tomorrow. We see one moment; God sees the whole journey. Sometimes the greatest answer to prayer is not receiving exactly what we asked for. Sometimes the greatest answer is receiving the wisdom, strength, and grace to surrender our desires and say: “Lord, not my will, but Yours be done.”

When we truly surrender to God, our confidence changes.

We can stand boldly in Christ and say, “I will not fail.” Not because we are stronger than everyone else, and not because we know exactly what tomorrow will bring, but because our confidence is in Christ.

Christ has accomplished His mission. Therefore, if we remain in Him, our confidence is not in ourselves. Our confidence is in the One who completely surrendered Himself to the will of the Father.

Christ will not fail. Therefore, I will not abandon my position in Christ. I will not give up. I will not turn back. I will hold on to my faith. I will trust God even when I do not understand. I will believe Him even when the answer is not what I expected.

The prayer we should learn to pray is not only, “Lord, change my situation.” We should also pray:

“Lord, change my heart.” “Lord, control my desires.” “Lord, give me wisdom.” “Lord, teach me to love my neighbour.” “Lord, remove selfishness from my heart.” “Lord, help me forgive.” “Lord, help me trust You when I cannot see the way forward.” “Lord, let Your will be done in my life.” Because when God's will becomes greater than our own will, we begin to understand the true power of prayer.

Prayer is not merely about changing circumstances. It is about changing us so that, whatever our circumstances may be, we can remain faithful to God.

So today, let us surrender our plans, our desires, our fears, and our expectations into His hands.

Let us trust that His wisdom is greater than ours, His plans are higher than ours, and His love is greater than anything we can understand.

Lord Jesus Christ, thank You. Help us to depend on Your will for our lives. Help us trust Your plans even when we cannot understand them. Teach us to love our neighbours and to consider others in our prayers. Change our hearts, purify our desires, strengthen our faith, and help us remain in Christ Jesus forever.

Not my will, Lord, but Yours be done. Amen. God bless you richly

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