Thy Will be Done

A series on Pauls’ prayers
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Colossians 1:3-14 

[Paul was a controversial figure in the first century church. But it could also be argued that he was the most dynamic and influential apostle. In this series we’ll be looking at Paul’s prayers and what he has to say to us today.]

 

We pray the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday at my church. I have to confess that it’s easy to recite with very little thought or meaning. But the Lord’s Prayer does have profound meaning for our lives. None more than the phrase, ‘Thy will be done’.

 

For Hillary Scott, these words mean a great deal. In 2016, she released a song titled “Thy Will” which she wrote after having a miscarriage. The lyrics reflect her struggle with trying to understand why God would allow such a loss in her life. During this difficult time, she frequently prayed ‘Thy will be done’.

 

Paul understood how important it was for the Colossian believers to know God’s will. False teaching had infiltrated the church. The teaching combined several religious beliefs and valued the accumulation of knowledge for the sake of knowledge alone.

 

In his letter to the Colossian church, Paul addressed this heresy. He pointed out that knowledge in itself was empty. To be worth anything, it must lead to knowing God and following His will.

 

To this end, Paul wrote to the Colossian believers that he had been praying for them. First, he prayed for them to receive knowledge and understanding. Not just any knowledge, but to know God’s will.

 

⁹ So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.        NLT

 

The second part of his prayer was for the Colossian believers to follow God’s will. In other words, don’t just seek head knowledge about God, but also know Him in your heart and show that through your actions.

 

¹⁰ Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.    NLT

 

Finally, Paul prayed for the Colossians to receive the strength to do God’s will. He realized that this is not something that comes naturally. But it would require the Holy Spirit to be at work in their lives.

 

¹¹ We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.         NLT

 

Sometimes in life, it takes a painful experience to bring us to that point of turning to the Lord and crying out, “Thy will be done’. For Hillary Scott, this happened when she approached the Lord in faith like a child on her knees.

 

I know you see me
I know you hear me, Lord
Your plans are for me
Goodness you have in store

 

May ‘Thy will be done’ in your life and in mine.

 

Feel free to share this blog with others.

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

If you would like to listen to it, here is a link to the song “Thy Will”.

 Thy Will

 

 

 

“I Beg, I Get”

A Series on the parables of Jesus
(Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Luke 11:1-13 

[During the first century, it was common for a rabbi to use parables when teaching their disciples. The parables of Jesus were stories that he told to illustrate spiritual truth using some element from everyday life. Jesus used seeds, fish, trees, bread - things people could easily relate to – for a “teachable moment”.]

  

My daughter is an only child, so naturally we spoiled her. Apparently, she recognized it early-on because on one occasion we overheard her bragging about it to a childhood friend. I believe her exact words were, “I beg, I get”.

 

As she got older, she matured and became more sophisticated. In her teens, she actually wrote a proposal listing all the benefits of buying contact lenses for her. And then she pitched it to me. Not surprisingly, her career is in marketing.

 

Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray – a rote prayer like the ones you learn as a child. So, he gave them the words of what we know as the Lord’s Prayer. By doing this, he gave them the technical ability to pray, but because he wanted to teach them more than just words, he also told them a parable.

 

It was about a man whose friend was on a journey, and unexpectedly stopped late at night for a visit. Hospitality was very important in that culture, so it would have been unthinkable to not feed his guest. However, he had no food.

 

Therefore, at midnight, he knocked on the door of a friend to ask for bread. As you might guess the friend was asleep and wasn’t happy to be rudely awakened. He wouldn’t even come to the door. Then Jesus said this to his disciples.

 

⁸ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence.   NLT

 

Jesus was telling his disciples, and telling us, to do whatever it takes. Don’t give up. Keep praying.

 

It’s easy to not pray; to find a reason to avoid knocking on the door of your friend at midnight. Our human nature doesn’t like to admit that we need help. The thought is, “I can do this by myself, thank you very much. I don’t need anybody’s help”.

 

“Shameless persistence” – not to do it on our own, but to ask for God’s help… our heavenly Father… Abba. And if we do, there’s a promise.

 

⁹ “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.            NLT

 

Ask, seek, knock… “I beg, I get”. Pretty good insight from a child.

 

***

¹⁵ Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

                                                                                                Matthew 11 NLT

 

Copyright 2022 Joseph B Williams

 

 

 

The Power of THE Unbalanced Force

Matthew 6:5-13

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+6%3A5-13&version=NIV;GNT

 

 

Newton's first Law of Motion reads like this:

 

“An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.”

 

According to teachertech.rice.edu, “This means that there is a natural tendency of objects to keep on doing what they're doing. All objects resist changes in their state of motion. In the absence of an unbalanced force, an object in motion will maintain this state of motion.”         

 

Newton’s three Laws of Motion are the foundation of classical physics. I hated physics! It just didn’t make any sense to me. Apparently though, the main goal of physics is to understand how the universe behaves. Now that interests me, because we as humans are a part of the universe.

 

If you apply Newton’s first Law of Motion to people it might read like this:

 

Every person has their own beliefs, attitudes and habits which will remain the same unless acted on by an unbalanced force. The result is that our human nature resists change.

 

Like Newton’s physical laws, there are spiritual laws at work in our world, and in our hearts.

 

²¹ So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. ²² For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; ²³ but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. ²⁴ What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7:21-25 NIV

 

Because of this battle with us, it is critical for us to pray in the way that Jesus taught his followers including, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” Or from the Good News Translation: “Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One.”

 

In other words, “Lord, please be that unbalanced force that redirects my life; that

engages me where I am at; that leads me through trials and temptations; that delivers me from evil; that protects me from myself and from the evil of the world; that changes me into the person you created me to be.”

 

But, if you pray this prayer, be ready for THE unbalanced force.

 

  

 

(If God has spoken to you through this blog, please feel free to share it with others.)

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Other related verses you might want to read:

James 1:13-15

1 Corinthians 10:13

James 4:7-8

 

1-800 How’s My Driving?

Colossians 3:12-17

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians%203%3A12-17&version=NIV;NLT

 

After seeing one of these bumper stickers, have you ever wanted to call the 1-800 number to let them know just how bad the driver of vehicle # 50 really is?

 

But then you cut off the guy in front of you so what can you say?

“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

 

When we trespass against someone, we feel like they should forgive us. But it’s often a different story when we’re the one that is offended. Consider the parable that Jesus told about the unmerciful servant.

 

The first servant begged his master to forgive him his large indebtedness; which he did. But then the same servant immediately refused to forgive a fellow servant the small amount he was owed. Here’s what led up to this parable.

 

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18 NIV

 

This is not a popular lesson. How many times should we forgive our boss or our employee? How many times should we forgive our spouse or parent or child? How many times should we forgive that difficult person who continually rubs you the wrong way? Paul wrote these words which addresses these questions.

 

¹² Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.        Colossians 3 NLT

 

 “1-800 How’s my driving”, makes a clever bumper sticker. The idea behind it is to provide accountability; ultimately, to make the person behind the wheel a better driver. As followers of Christ, God has called us to become more like Him; in a sense, to be a better driver of our lives.

 

God’s character is to love and to forgive. But sometimes it’s hard for us to do that. However, all we have to do is call out to God, and He will answer. We don’t need a bumper sticker or an 800 number for that.

 

 

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Deliver us From Evil

Psalm 109:16-26

 (Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20109%3A16-31&version=NIV;MSG

 

  

For thirty years, Johnny Carson entertained Americans on The Tonight Show. One of his most memorable characters was Carnac the Magnificent. If the audience reacted poorly to one of his jokes, Carnac would cast a comedic curse upon them such as, "May a bloated yak change the temperature of your Jacuzzi".

 

In the first few verses from today’s passage, David is crying out to God to cast a serious curse upon those who were falsely accusing him. Here is what he prayed:

Send the Evil One to accuse my accusing judge; dispatch Satan to prosecute him. When he’s judged, let the verdict be “Guilty,” and when he prays, let his prayer turn to sin.

 

Give him a short life, and give his job to somebody else. Make orphans of his children, dress his wife in widow’s weeds; Turn his children into begging street urchins, evicted from their homes—homeless.

May the bank foreclose and wipe him out, and strangers, like vultures, pick him clean. May there be no one around to help him out, no one willing to give his orphans a break.            MSG

 

 

This sounds more like David is raging in anger than praying to God. Ultimately though, David does ask God for deliverance from those who wished him harm. He did so, not based on retaliation or vindictiveness, but based on who God is; based on the character of God.

 

²¹ But deal well with me, O Sovereign Lord, for the sake of your own reputation! Rescue me because you are so faithful and good. ²⁶ Help me, O Lord my God! Save me because of your unfailing love.         NLT

 

God is faithful and good. His love is unfailing. He is always at work in our life. He is always drawing us closer to Him. Because of who He is, He delivers us. All we have to do is ask and believe. Sometimes we need to be delivered from our enemies; but other times we need to be delivered from our own sinful nature.

 

Jesus taught us how to pray about our enemies and our sinful nature:

 

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.                        Matthew 6:12-13 RSV

 

 

 

(If God has spoken to you through this devotional, please feel free to share it with others.)

 

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