The Hard Road

The hardest prayer we ever pray is probably the one we have prayed the most.  From top to bottom the prayer we learned to pray with the Sunday morning congregation is a tough prayer.  It is a prayer that challenges our value system and one which measures our faith.  It is a good thing we pray it without seriously considering the words, or we might be afraid to pray it the next Sunday.  What seems to be an ordinary and harmless prayer is instead life changing and dangerous.

 

Consider for a moment what it would mean if we took seriously those words, "...Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done..."  (Matthew 6:10)  Who among us really wants the Kingdom of God to dawn in the midst of their life?  Who really wants to live according to love and grace and mercy in every circumstance and in every relationship?  And, then who is ready to live asking only that God's will be done in their life?  When we start thinking about where "...Thy will be done..." takes us, we soon realize it takes us to a place of absolute and total submission to a will other than our own. 

For those who would rather dabble at the edge of the water with Jesus, these words about submission will never take hold.  When we pray only for God's will to be done it requires a willingness to forsake any right to self.  It means turning loose of our agendas, what we think God should or should not do, and embracing a love that demands or expects nothing.  The way of letting God's will be done in our life is not the easy road.  It is the hard road, the narrow road, and few are really willing to walk it.