Praying “Thy will be done” is probably the most difficult of all petitions. When Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane for the cup to pass from him, he wanted that urgently. His whole being was recoiling in horror from the God-forsakenness of the cross, but he added “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done,” and meant it with all his heart. When we are praying for the recovery of a dying spouse or child, it is hard to add, and to mean it, “Thy will be done.” But this is the key to living as God’s children in the world – submitting to and obeying his will.
1. What is the will of God?
We hear often today about the secret and revealed will of God. This distinction comes from Deuteronomy 29:29:
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
That verse does not use the term will, so we should be careful about applying it directly and without qualification to the will of God, as if the secret things are his decrees and the revealed his commandments. God has revealed to us more than his commandments. He has, in fact, revealed some of his decrees. This is what Biblical prophecy, in the sense of foretelling the future, is all about. God has foreordained all things, and sometimes he tells us, through the prophets, what he has foreordained before it happens. Thus, in Genesis 18:17-19 the Lord asks himself,
Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him. For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.
He then proceeds to tell Abraham what he has determined to do about Sodom and Gomorrah. In the Scriptures he makes the same kinds of revelations to us. We know, for example, that our Lord will return, that this world will be burned with fire, that there will be a day of judgment, and that election and reprobation exist, even though we do not know to whom they apply.
Furthermore, all of God’s decrees become known to us as his work unfolds around us, as he performs all his will and good pleasure. When a winter storm pummels us, then we know that God decreed that to happen at that particular time and in that particular place. And when the weather forecasters predict that a major storm will hit this or that area of the country and nothing happens, then we know that both the forecast and its failure are by his decree. What God reveals includes many things besides his commandments.
According to Deuteronomy 29:29 the reason that God reveals all these things, all his commandments and some of his decrees, is that we may do all the words of this law. That’s important because it points us to the central obligation that comes to us in receiving God’s revelation of himself, his works and his laws: that we obey his commandments. But more about that later.
A better terminology, then, makes a distinction between the will of God’s command and the will of his decree. James 4:13-16 talks about the will of decree:
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
But Matthew 7:21 talks about his will of command:
Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
God’s will of decree then is what he has determined will happen, and his will of command is what he tells us we must and must not do.
That distinction is important for our next point.
2. How do we know the will of God?
To answer the question ”how do we know the will of God?” we must first answer another, “What do we mean by the will of God?” Do we mean the will of his command or do we mean the will of his decree? All too often I think that we mean the will of his decree.
This seems very normal and even godly at first glance. When we are faced with various decisions, we want to know what God wants us to do. Should I marry this man? Should I take this job? Should I buy this house or car, or whatever? Especially when the decision is an important one, we would like God simply to tell us what to do. We ask that he will make his will known to us.
Sometimes we even look for signs that will tell us what his will is. You have probably heard about people who open the Bible at random, take the verse that first strikes their eye, and then try to find in it a message about what God wants them to do. There’s a story also about a farmer who thought that God might be calling him to the ministry. One day when he was out in the field, he saw in the clouds the letters PC. He decided that those letters meant Preach Christ. God was telling him that he must go into the ministry. But the whole effort was a dismal failure, so he went for counsel. “How could this be such a failure if it was God’s will? God gave me a sign, and yet it’s not working out. What is the matter?” Well, maybe PC meant plant corn, not preach Christ. Or better, attempting to find and interpret signs in the providential acts of God is a dangerous thing to do.
There are problems with this approach to decision making, that is, with asking God to reveal his will or with looking for signs that will show us God’s will. When we ask God to make his will known, we are asking for knowledge, knowledge of things that God has not chosen to reveal. And when we look for signs, we are saying that, if only I am observant enough, sincere enough, or diligent enough, I will be able to learn what God wants me to do. But are we instead prying into the secret things that belong to the Lord our God? Furthermore, this is not what Jesus taught us to pray. Thy will be done accepts the possibility of ignorance. Thy will be done means, “even if I don’t know what that will is bringing.” God doesn’t usually tell us his will in the sense that he reveals his decrees and thus turns them into commands. He will not usually tell you that you directly that you should or should not marry this man, buy this house or take this job.
Furthermore, interpreting providence, which is what looking for signs really comes down to, is uncertain and dangerous. Is God revealing his will by the sign we have chosen, or is he testing us? When David had opportunity to kill Saul it would have been very easy for him to say, “It’s God’s will. God himself has put him in my hands and given me this opportunity. God told me I would be king. Saul has been acting very wickedly. Surely it will be better for Israel if I become king now.” We should also ask, “Is Satan tempting me?” And we must beware of the deceitfulness of our own hearts. Are we interpreting the signs according to our own desires? Are we perhaps using “signs” to justify what we want to do and are determined to do? Our hearts are deceitful enough to make us think that we are doing the will of God, when we are really stubbornly determined to do our own will.
So what is the solution in those difficult situations where we want to do what is pleasing to God, but cannot see clearly what is the best course to take?
The main thing is very simple: obey the commandments. In fact, as long as you obey his commandments God will not be displeased with you, no matter what you do.
Let’s go back to the example of a buying a car. God will not tell you whether you should buy the Honda Odyssey from this dealer or the Toyota Sienna from that one. And, all things being equal, you should not worry about which purchase will please or displease him. All things being equal, and you acting in obedience, buy whatever vehicle you like. But his commandments do apply, also to this decision. He requires that you be a faithful steward of his gifts. Is one of the cars more than you can afford? Will buying it prevent you from fulfilling other financial obligations, such as supporting the work of the church or paying your mortgage? If so, then it may be that God’s will is clear: you should not buy it. However, if application of God’s commandments does not impose a particular obligation, do what you will. God will not be displeased. Augustine once said, “Love God and do what you will.” We can paraphrase that a little and say, “Obey his commandments, and do what you will.”
That’s the most important message about knowing the will of God. He wants you to obey his commandments. And his commandments are very clear.
For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may do it. Deuteronomy 30:11-14.
However, this does not mean that providential circumstances do not matter. They do. We must apply the commandments to the decisions and problems of life as they arise. In that regard, every day may bring something new, and every day may require a renewed looking into the commandments to apply them to the day’s new circumstances. Sometimes circumstances point us to our duty. When I was a minister my wife and I were planning to leave for vacation on a Monday. One of the members of the congregation became quite ill and ended up in the hospital. It was clear to us that God was saying, “Don’t go on vacation right now.” The circumstances pointed us to an obligation that had to be fulfilled first. It would have been entirely wrong for me to argue that there is no commandment against going on vacation. There isn’t, but in those circumstances there was.
The commandments are not to be obeyed as if we lived in a vacuum, but rather in response to the specific providential circumstances of our lives. It’s for this reason that the Heidelberg Catechism in its explanation of this petition says that we are to fulfill our office and calling as willingly and faithfully as the angels do in heaven.
Furthermore, we should always be praying for wisdom. Some things are not a question of sin versus obedience, but merely of prudence versus foolishness. Let’s go back once more to the question of purchasing a car. For most of us there is a decision about a car that would be sinful, the indulging of a luxury that we cannot afford, or a succumbing to the lusts of the flesh. There might also be a decision that is not sinful but is imprudent. We have a pretty good idea that this particular car might not be very good, but we are in a hurry or like its looks, or someone with greater knowledge has given us good advice that we choose to ignore. Is the purchase sinful? Probably not. Is it unwise? You yourself might be ready to say that after the initial excitement has worn off. So we need to pray for wisdom as well as obedience, and God will give it: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him (Jam 1:5).
There may also be times when a decision, though not in itself sinful, places us in the path of temptation, where there may be an an appeal to our own particular weaknesses. We are to flee from temptation, and not to plunge ahead with a particular course of action with the conviction that we are strong enough to resist any temptations we may face.
So those are three things about knowing the will of God. 1) Is it against his commandments as applied in the present circumstances? 2) Are the present circumstances pointing me to an obligation, that is, to a matter of obedience? 3) Have I prayed for wisdom? If you have thus committed your way to God, then do what you will with a clear conscience.
3. What does the prayer mean?
So what do we mean when we pray, Thy will be done?”
We must understand this petition in the light of our Lord’s prayer in the garden. He prayed these exact words, and we must, in praying as he taught us to pray, follow his example.
He was praying, of course, about the cup of suffering, the cup of the wine of the wrath of God. God was leading him by his counsel and providence down the path to the cross. Here in the garden, Jesus pauses for a moment to ask that the path not lead there, that he not be required to follow it to the end. But he adds, Not my will, but thine be done.
What did he mean? He meant that he wanted God’s purposes and counsel to be fulfilled. “If the drinking of this cup is what you have decreed for me, then let your will be done. It is more important to me that your will be done, than that I be delivered from this cup.” That’s what we mean when we pray for his will. Do you mean it? It is more important to me that your will be done, than that I receive what I have asked?
But he was also saying that he would be obedient to that will. He was promising that he would submit to it without rebellion, dispute, despair or loss of faith. He was saying that he would continue to fulfill the duties of his station and calling. He had been appointed as the mediator of God’s people, and he was saying that he would do whatever God required of him in that station, even if it meant drinking the cup. Finally, therefore, he was promising obedience to the commandments of God as he continued down whatever path the Lord led him.
The very same things apply to us. We pray that God will fulfill his counsel and good pleasure. And we pray that, in response, we may humbly and without dispute bear whatever cross he gives, and yet remain completely obedient, faithfully fulfilling our duties in our place and in the present circumstances.
We mean, of course, that we want his will more than our own. We renounce our own will, whatever it is, and obey his will. His way with us, as well our obligations in that way, may not be to our liking, but we sincerely want his will rather than our own. We believe that his will is best.
So we cannot make here a sharp distinction between the will of command and the will of decree. Both come into play. We are praying both that God will fulfill his counsel and that we, and all men, may faithfully respond to the unfolding of his counsel with obedience. And that obedience means both submission to his way and compliance with his commandments.
We do that because we know that his will is good. He is our faithful Father and wants and does only what is good for his children, though it may involve great pain and suffering.
Thus my heart was grieved, And I was vexed in my mind. I was so foolish and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Psalm 73:21-24