Praying "thy will be done"?

[Myshkin99]

It's not praise, supplication, request for enlightenment, or grace. It's....nothing. God's will? Of course it will be done. It's God's will! Praying that just seems self-serving and full of hubris.

I have indicated previously that I sometimes feel very self-conscious praying, because my faith is to a mustard seed, as a mustard seed is to a coconut. There's nothing more cringe-worthy than me, a foolish sinner trying to believe, saying to God "thy will be done". Duh!

Maybe The Lord's Prayer is not appropriate for me at this time. Praying is hard work.

 

[heymikey80]

It's not praise, supplication, request for enlightenment, or grace. It's....nothing. God's will? Of course it will be done. It's God's will! Praying that just seems self-serving and full of hubris.

I have indicated previously that I sometimes feel very self-conscious praying, because my faith is to a mustard seed, as a mustard seed is to a coconut. There's nothing more cringe-worthy than me, a foolish sinner trying to believe, saying to God "thy will be done". Duh!

Maybe The Lord's Prayer is not appropriate for me at this time. Praying is hard work.

"thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" You can normally look for the rest of the sentence to seek out and inform your view of what's being said.

God's will is not done in the same way on earth, as in heaven. In heaven there's purity and perfection, and God's command is an immediate part of everything that happens. There's a closeness to God that's not the same on earth.

 

[paul1149]

If you consider the level of opposition to God's will here on earth, that God wants us to actively participate in its unfolding, and what even Jesus had to go through to accomplish His role, then perhaps you no longer will consider God's will automatic, and this part of the Lord's prayer to be "nothing".

If hard work is going to be your ultimate criteria for judging doctrine, you may have the wrong religion.

 

[salida]

Praying for God's will is the opposite of being self centered.

Praying is hard work? This is so vital to pray as your communicating with God. Having the holy spirit in your life will help you want to pray and to be able to live a christian life in general. Human effort alone can't do this and going by feelings alone doesn't work. Getting in a habit will help much.

 

[Myshkin99]

If hard work is going to be your ultimate criteria for judging doctrine, you may have the wrong religion.

Not judging. Just pointing out that it is hard work. We do many things that are hard work. We do them because they are the right thing to do.

I do not like to pray. I do it because I am told to do it. To say to God "Thy will be done as earth as it is in heaven" just feels wrong. It makes me feel like a petulant, whiny child. But It matters not how it feels to me. I judge doctrine not by how much I like it, but by how true it is.

 

[heron]

God's will is not done in the same way on earth, as in heaven. In heaven there's purity and perfection, and God's command is an immediate part of everything that happens. There's a closeness to God that's not the same on earth.

I think that's key. Some churches teach that God is so omnipotent that nothing moves without His command. Which I see as true in the overall picture, but not in the deciding moments. God's broad will for earth was turnover of life and death, cycles, free choice and risk, decisions from the heart, good intent expressed, growth of character and wisdom.

One of the first stories in the Bible shows man making a gesture to show appreciation toward God...and God reasoning with someone else to curb jealousy and prevent worse things happening. Negotiation and training, like parents do with children. He has declared us His children.

God's will? Of course it will be done.

If that is frustrating, then have a talk with God about it.
Maybe you are in a stage of life where other people seem to be setting all the rules, and you are ready to step out into more authority and independence. External things like that can change how we feel God is relating to us.

 

[Sketcher]

I think it's a great prayer to pray, as you find situations that you quite frankly are not smart enough to untangle, but need God's touch.

 

[heron]

I think it's a great prayer to pray, as you find situations that you quite frankly are not smart enough to untangle, but need God's touch.

It's also simple enough that we don't get wrapped up in extra religiosities.

 

[thisnamztaken]

God's will is always done in heaven, but He has given us believers not only authority as His disciples but also the responsibility to "release" as it were, through our prayers, His will to come about on earth.

His will is that no one on earth will perish (II Pet. 3:9), yet multitudes do, and will. That's why believers' prayers for the lost and our daily lives of letting His love, light, and truth flow though us to others is so necessary.

In ourselves, we may feel unworthy to be allowed to pray for His will to be loosed on earth, but once we have received Christ, God the Father thereafter only sees us as washed, sanctified, and justified in Christ (I Cor. 6:10-11).