Teach us to pray, part 2: Whose will do we want?

And He said to them, "When you pray, say: ' Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 'Give us each day our daily bread. 'And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:2-4 NASB)

When you read the passage above, you probably noticed that this "model prayer" is not exactly the same as the model prayer we consider "the Lord's prayer". (Matthew 6:9-13) This is a "pared down" form of the prayer recorded in Matthew's gospel, but it still contains the basics. Luke has recorded the prayer of Christ in a very "doctorly" way. He has kept the skeleton, the basics, of the prayer and recorded what might be considered an outline for prayer. 

Luke begins with praise and honor to God, then addresses the needs for provision, forgiveness, and sanctification. "We want what You want, we need what You give, We want to live like You have said." If we can pray with that kind of submission to our Heavenly Father, we will have done well. 

My problem with praying in this manner is that my wants don't always line up with God's wants. In theory, of course, I want what God wants for my life. In actuality, I sometimes want something a little different. If you and I are going to pray the way Jesus prayed, we must begin by being willing to trade our desires for God's. 

Just as Jesus prayed in the garden on the night before His crucifixion, we must begin with "not my will but Thine be done." This prayer of submission is the prayer that never fails. When we choose to do what God wants, to accept what God sends rather than try to find a solution for ourselves, we have made a giant step toward intimate and effective prayer. 

Understanding what we want in prayer is vital as we begin our study on learning to pray like Jesus prayed. Do I want what God wants or not? If I do not want what God wants, and am not willing for Him to change my wants to His, my prayers will never achieve the intimacy I desire, nor the answers I hope to find. It is only when I enter into conversation with Almighty God, fully convinced that He knows best and completely willing to accept His will, that I am ready to begin to pray. 

Selah. Pause and consider.

If we want to pray as Jesus prayed, if we want to see mighty works of God, if we want to have intimacy with our Creator, we must begin with the submission of Christ. "Thy will be done" must be our heart's cry. Even before we speak a word to our Lord, we must begin by submitting to our Lord. 

Today, let us take those burdens we carry and present them to the Lord with no request but the one our Lord prayed on that fateful night. "Thy will be done." In every need, every hurt, every desire, may our prayer begin with His will, and not our own.

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (Luke 22:42 KJV)

Visit at Martha's House, part 7: Whose Work Matters

But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." (Luke 10:40 NASB)

When you look closely at this verse, what Martha said to Jesus is really shocking. It appears, from the way she addressed Him as Lord, that she had an understanding of Jesus as Master. He was not just a poor, wandering preacher. He was not just a family friend. He was Lord and He was in charge. It seems as if Martha had a basic understanding of this, but Martha had a problem that most of us have as well. Martha thought that she was also in charge. She approached Jesus as if they were on equal terms. 

Jesus did not tell Martha what preparations needed to be done. Martha decided that for herself. She then attempted to perform all the work she had decided was necessary, but it was too much for her. There is no indication that Martha spent even a moment saying, "Is all this necessary? Is this what Jesus wants me to do?" Martha had made her decision and she was sticking with it. (Does this sound familiar at all? Isn't this something that we do, as well?) 

To make matters worse, Martha decided that her agenda should also include Mary. In essence, Martha's plan for Mary became more important than Jesus' plan for Mary, at least in Martha's mind. I would expect that Martha had signaled Mary more than once, trying to get her to get up and help! Mary, however, kept her seat at the feet of Jesus. 

What is astounding to me is that Martha marched right up to Jesus and demanded He reassign Mary to The Martha-Work-Crew! Don't forget that Jesus was not just a man. He was Almighty God wrapped in flesh, sitting in her home, and Martha was trying to boss Him around like she was His equal. 

Selah. Pause and consider. 

I'm not going to pretend that I've never done this, but I hope I have better sense now. What about you? Do your prayers sometimes have a "Martha-esque" tone about them? Do we find ourselves demanding that God do whatever it is we want and hop to it? 

We would do well to remember that there is a God and we are not it. His Word tells us that He has a plan, for good and not for evil. It makes sense to desire that good plan, but all too often we want our own plan, instead. Even worse, we demand that God give us what we want. 

When she first became overwhelmed with preparations, Martha would have had a much better day if she had stopped to ask herself, "Is this what I need to be doing? Is this what Jesus wants me to do?" We, too, could benefit from using our frustration with life as an opportunity to consider that maybe what we want is not what God wants. Shocking idea, isn't it? It is also a very freeing concept. 

If you're frustrated and overwhelmed with life, it is time for some serious soul-searching. Is the work you are trying to do, the lifestyle you are pursuing, that for which you long, really what God desires for you or have you made your own plan, expecting God to bless it? It may be that your plan needs to be relinquished for the one God has for you. 

What, then, should you do? Do what Mary did. Begin by positioning yourself at the feet of Jesus. Listen to His words. Seek His face. Ask for His plan, then do what He says. 

Hear, and heed, the words of Jesus: 

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 NASB)