“What did that billboard say?” my mom asked of me, her 11-year-old, who was riding in the front seat of the car while she was driving down the highway from Muleshoe to our farm turn-off road. I said something about not knowing and she quickly countered with a shocked “you couldn’t read that?” as she simultaneously was pulling a U-turn to go back and view it again. I still couldn’t read it on the second pass – it was too blurry.
She was astounded – and furious. How did I get to the 6th grade with all “A’s” and no school eye test or any other clue had picked up on my huge case of nearsightedness. She immediately got me to an eye doctor and I thereafter wore glasses (later contacts) and was amazed at what the world looked like beyond my “nose in a book” distance. As I think back on school, I almost always sat up front or close to the front of the room – I must have listened well, also — but I somehow knew what the teacher put on the chalkboard.
Nearsightedness is clearly seeing objects up close, while objects in the distance are blurry.
As Henry Blackaby’s devotional pulled out wisdom for me from Jesus teaching his disciples to pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10), the real lesson I was needing was right in front of me. Even my near-sighted self was able to “see” it.
What was it? Blackaby’s point: “In heaven, God’s will is the only priority….Jesus instructed us to pray that God would accomplish His will in our world in the same way.” Top priority.
OK, you know my ‘knee jerk’ reaction when trying to discern God’s will – please, Lord, just send me the postcard in the mail, one sentence, clear directions, in black-and-white easy to understand language!
Nope – hasn’t happened yet. So I need to keep pushing that learning curve about how I can discern God’s will here and now, on this earth, and as instructed in the Lord’s model prayer. Wait – He didn’t say I had to KNOW His will; he just said I needed to pray that God’s will BE DONE on earth, as in heaven.
How is it done in heaven? Blackaby says a word from God brings angels to do His bidding, immediately and without question.
Jesus prayed the same way in the Garden at Gethsemane just before his crucifixion. He prayed “Yet, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39) And as I remember it, Jesus was asking if they could go a different path (‘if it is possible, let this cup pass from me’). I can relate to that.
It is a powerful message about the relationship between God’s will and our lives. And instructive to me is that Jesus was asking for a different way, as I often do when I am working out what is God’s will in a situation. Yet I forget that I need to end up just as Jesus did – not my will but as You, God, will it to be. Here comes that trust factor.
What stands in the way? Yep – I’m near-sighted. I can only see what is right in front of me – my way, my purposes, my goals, my comfort.
Until I “seek God’s kingdom on earth” and not just my own purposes, I cannot have the same mind as my heavenly Father. I do want to be in agreement with Him and pray sincerely in concert with His desires. That can only be done when I put on His corrective lenses – only then can I “see” and become involved in His activity as He answers my prayer. Heck, if I don’t put on His glasses, I won’t even be able to recognize His activity when He is actually answering my prayer. Gotta keep those specs on.
It’s a reminder of the priorities I should hold dear in my life and as I pray, seek and listen for God’s will in whatever situation is before me. I must see and think beyond my immediate desires (usually self-focused) and instead focus on what God desires for me and others and the world.
Encouragement comes from Blackaby’s reminder that as I seek the Lord’s will, He will guide my prayers. In fact, He will invite me not only in praying but also involve me in His activity as He answers my prayer. My part is to trust Him and be alert to His activity around me trusting that He is in charge and directing my path. That takes my priorities being in line with His priorities with total trust placed in Him.
I forget the true power of prayer. I can go to the Christian Warfare chest of weapons in Ephesians 6 where Paul lays out the “full armor of God”. Verse 18 is such a good reminder: “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
And this includes praying for myself to have what Paul requested in verse 19 – “that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador….”
And I will add an acutely personal prayer at the end – from Psalm 143:10a – “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.”
Don’t know if you are like me, but I think we all need better vision when discerning His will in our world today – hope this helps.
