Thy will be done – Mat 6;10

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Matthew 6:9-10: “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'”

People in all religions pray. Muslims pray regularly. Hindus pray. Buddhists, and even members of the Church of Satan, pray. Secularists pray in their most desperate moments. And millions of nominal Christians and church-goers who are not born again pray. What do they pray for? They ask God for a hundred things that you and I ask for: daily bread, protection, health, happiness, peace for their family and spouses, a good future for their children, a good job, blessings, and miracles. They also pray for the ability to change bad habits. Unbelievers want all these things, and they pray for them. To desire and pray for those things, you don’t need the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. Everyone does it.

So, where is the difference in prayer between a born-again child of the kingdom and others? One of the key differences is that the deepest desire that pervades all other desires is that God and Christ be glorified. A person who is born again loves God. They treasure him supremely. They have tasted the all-satisfying glory of God and see that he is worthy of all honor. They see God on his throne. They know God is not a magical lamp that you rub with prayer to get what you want. They realize their greatest need is God himself and want him to be exalted, honored, and glorified in everything. Someone once said, “Listen as people pray. You will find out what they live for and what they treasure most of all.” Our Lord teaches us to pray like children of the kingdom, not like unbelievers.

Prayer starts with the recognition that God is our loving Father who knows everything about us, and secondly, with respect that he is in heaven, on his throne. He is the Monarch of heaven. When we pray publicly, and the pastor is praying, do we really believe we are talking to God? Some people silently keep moving, doing work, and looking at what others are doing. This is irreverence. God, before whom countless angels fall prostrate and Seraphim and Cherubim stand, is so powerful that he can lift the whole world with his finger. They shudder before his burning presence. We shake our legs, sit relaxed, are lukewarm, or even half asleep. Do we believe we are talking to the God of heaven? All prayer must start with the recognition that he is a Father who is in heaven.

Then it starts with the first petition—his name be hallowed—which is a canopy petition. This petition covers everything. This is the end of all things. Romans 11:36 says, “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.” God is the creator of this world and all of us, and he provides life, breath, and all things to us. He needs to be thanked, glorified, and hallowed. But not everyone does it on earth. Why? Because there is another kingdom that reigns in the hearts of people now, and another will is being done here. All dishonor to God is because another kingdom reigns in the hearts of people. So how is his name hallowed here? By his kingdom coming and breaking the power of Satan’s kingdom in this world and his kingdom reigning in the hearts of people. That is the only way God’s name is hallowed. For a person living in sin and in the kingdom of Satan, their rule of life is selfish. They live for themselves and cannot glorify God. When the kingdom comes, the sinner is convicted, their self is broken, and they come out of the kingdom of the devil and come into the kingdom of God. That is why we pray, “Kingdom come.” But how is God glorified when his kingdom comes? How is the coming of the kingdom visible? How do we know God’s kingdom has come in our midst? The next petition tells us that: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Do you see the beautiful connection? God’s name is hallowed when his kingdom comes, and we know his kingdom has come when his will is done by all in his kingdom as it is in heaven. So this is a natural outworking. God’s kingdom comes, his will is done, and God’s name is glorified.

This petition consists of two parts: the matter, “Doing God’s will,” and the manner, “As it is in heaven.”

Doing God’s Will

What is meant by the will of God? The Bible reveals two types of will.

  1. God’s secret will, or “the will of his decree.” We do not pray that God’s sovereign will may be done by us. This secret will cannot be known; it is locked up in God’s own heart, and neither people nor angels know it. It encompasses everything and is also called the permissive will. It allows sin to run its course, but he will use it all for his purpose. We see that.
  2. God’s “revealed will.” This is God’s desire. This will is written in the book of Scripture, which is a declaration of God’s will and discovers what he would have us do in order to our salvation.

Some have the wrong idea that whatever happens in the world is God’s will. No, that is wrong. Ultimately, it may be in his decree, his sovereign will, but not his revealed will. His will of desire is clearly revealed in the Bible. That is not happening now. There are things that God wills that just don’t seem to happen. For example, Jesus desired that Jerusalem be saved. In Matthew and in Luke 13:34, he said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, I want to gather you,” but you won’t. You see, God desires—according to Peter, he says, “He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” But all don’t come.

We are saying, “Your will is not being done in this world. Your will is not being done in the hearts of people. Your name is not hallowed. Your will is not being done in my life and the lives of other believers who are living in disobedience. Your will is not happening in our society and world; people are perishing.” We will not accept things the way they are. When we say, “Thy will be done,” we rebel against the world and all its sin and its dishonoring of God. We plead for “Thy will to be done.”

As It Is in Heaven

This is an amazing prayer. This earth is subject to vanity, dimmed with ignorance, defiled with sin, and filled with sorrow. Can God’s will be so perfectly done as in heaven? This is a great prayer of faith. This teaches us that not only what we do for God is important, but how we do it is also important. The Lord Jesus Christ would not only have us do the Father’s will but do it after a certain model. And what an elevated model it is!

Who does God’s will in heaven? Angels. It is amazing to study how God’s will is done in heaven by angels. Many words describe how it is done. It is a great standard for us.

  1. Exclusively. God’s will is done exclusively. There is no rebellion tolerated there. So we pray that God’s will be done in our lives and in the lives of others exclusively. There is only one will: God’s will. Angels do not care for anything but God’s will. If God wills one thing and a person wills the contrary, we are not to obey a person’s will, but God’s. Like the apostles said, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you be the judge.” Acts 4:19. God says, “You shall not make a graven image.” King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image to be worshiped, but the three children resolved that God’s will should prevail, and they would obey him, though it might cost them their lives. The king said, “I’ll throw you in the furnace 7 times hotter. Let your God save you.” But they said, “Our God is able to save us. Be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up, even if our God does not save us.” Daniel 3:18. Exclusively.
  2. Completely. God’s will is done completely, in all things. An angel may be called to do a work for many or for one, for the holiest or the most sinful. They are sent on a message to comfort or rebuke, to carry a promise or to execute judgment, to save or to smite. The task cannot be too little or too much, too high or too low. An angel was sent to comfort a lonely woman in the desert named Hagar. An angel came to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus. Another angel came to Joseph to clear up his confusion. Angels came to shepherds and came to Paul on a ship and comforted them. It was an angel in Revelation who poured the vials of wrath on the world. Angels do whatever God tells them, whether it is bitter or sweet, comforting or threatening. God’s will is done irrespective of any other consideration.It is done completely, not halfway. True obedience consists not in beginning but in completing the work. “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Mark the words “be done,” for they touch a vital point of the text. God’s will is done in heaven. How very practical! On earth, his will is often forgotten. In the church of the present age, there is a desire to do his will, but how many do it? I am afraid that Christ’s will on earth is very much more discussed than done. Many remain in thought, resolve, or word, but very little is done. Many might wish that to think and to speak were to do the will of God. Up yonder in heaven, there is no playing with sacred things: they do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word. Would to God his will were not only preached and sung below, but actually done as it is in heaven.
  3. Immediately. Angels come at the exact moment. An angel came to Hagar just as her boy was about to die. An angel came to Jesus when his suffering in Gethsemane was unbearable. At the exact moment a command is given, an angel comes. Gabriel says, “I stand in the presence of God.” What a picture! Listening and watching for the first motions or expressions of God’s will, an angel’s obedience is immediate. To show how ready they are to execute God’s will, the cherubim, representing angels, are described with wings.
  4. Continually. We don’t read that angels sometimes obey and sometimes fall. They are continual; there is no lapse. The angels are never weary of doing God’s will; they serve him day and night. Revelation 7:15.
  5. Fervently. It is done in truth with an undivided heart and unquestioned desire. The angels serve God with such fervor and intenseness that they are called seraphim, from a Hebrew word that signifies to burn, to show they are all on fire. They burn in love and zeal in doing God’s will. On earth, too often, obedience is done and yet not done, for a dull formality mocks real obedience. Here, obedience often shades off into a dreary routine. We sing with our lips, but our hearts are silent. We pray as if the mere utterance of words were prayer. We sometimes preach living truth with dead lips. It must no longer be so. Would to God we had the fire and fervor of those burning ones who behold the face of God. We pray in that sense, “Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” We pray for a revival of fervor and zeal.
  6. With a pure motive. Their motive is the pure glory of God. The Pharisees did the will of God by giving alms, praying, and fasting, but they were like a cockroach in a cup of milk; in all their good works, they did not aim at his glory, but at vain glory—to be seen by people.
  7. Delightfully. There is no indication that angels come murmuring. One boy’s mother told him to sit down, but he didn’t. When she gave him one look, he sat down. He said, “Mother, I’m sitting on the outside, but I’m standing on the inside.” He was obeying, but not delightfully. Not the angels. Their obedience is delightful. They spring to obey. It is their heaven to serve God. They willingly descend from heaven to earth when they bring messages from God and glad tidings to the church. Heaven is a place of so much joy that the angels would not leave it for a minute if it were not that they take such infinite delight in doing God’s will. “And you, Solomon, my son, serve the Lord with a willing mind.” 1 Chronicles 28:9. God’s people are called a willing people (Hebrew: a people of willingnesses); they give God a freewill offering; though they cannot serve him perfectly, they serve him willingly. Israel was to blow the trumpets when they offered burnt offerings. Numbers 10:10. This was to show their joy and cheerfulness in serving God. We must read and hear the word with delight. “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart.” Jeremiah 15:16.

So, prayer is about doing God’s will as it is done in heaven. How is it done? With seven qualities: exclusively, completely, immediately, continually, fervently, with a pure motive, and delightfully.

We pray for ourselves. “Lord, may you be glorified. Lord, may your kingdom come first into my heart. I pray your will be done on earth, in me.” We still stand on earth. May my obedience dimly reflect the obedience of angels. When my flesh wakes and wants to do what it wants, may your will be done. When the seductive world pulls and the carnal flesh pulls, may your will be done. We pray that we may be like Joshua and Caleb and that they wholly followed the Lord.

Isn’t this a problem with many of us? It is not that God’s Spirit has not brought us to conversion; we can say we desire to do God’s will, but there are areas in our lives where we resist. “Lord, please keep your will away from this area, but if you discipline and strike me, maybe I’ll do it for some time.” This prayer is, “Lord, in every area of my life, may my obedience be like it is in heaven, in everything, as if I am in heaven.” Live as a heavenly citizen, not on earth. Live as if I am already in heaven.

Compare and see each word with your life. See how much we lack. Do we exclusively and completely do God’s will? Whatever others may say, whatever the flesh may say, however difficult, do you say, “This is God’s will, I will do it”?

Do we obey immediately? The moment God’s will is revealed in his word, do we have immediate obedience? How many times do we miss the blessing of obedience because we drag our heels and have heavy feet? The psalmist said, “I will run along with your commands.” We drag. Alas! How long does it sometimes take to get some of you to do something? I preach God’s will every week. How many obey it immediately? For years, I am saddened sometimes to see some of you. I meet some hungry people; they don’t just hear the word of God with open ears, but their eyes and mouths are open, and it melts their hearts, and they say, “Pastor, I did that,” and what a blessing it is to preach to them. Sometimes God will ask for an account for each of your souls. I don’t see obedience to God’s will. It saddens me. How many times do I have to say that it is God’s will that we read his word, pray, kill sin, and take care of our body in holiness? Are you still praying now? “Heh, not regularly, Pastor.”

Is our obedience continual? We obey for a week with the heat of the sermon, and then slowly drift. Is this the way to obey like it is in heaven? It’s easy to obey when we feel God’s smile and feel enthused. So easy. The glory bells are ringing. But what about the times when clouds come overhead, when there is no feeling of his presence, when there is dryness, deadness, and we are so conscious of sin and vileness? Even then, do we continue in obedience?

How many years have we learned God’s will, and how many are obedient to it?

Think of wives: what will happen if you pray this? What is God’s will for you? “Wives, be subject to your husbands in everything, as to the Lord.” Wives, be like this. Are you doing God’s will at home?

Husbands, pray, “Thy will be done in my life as in heaven.” Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. Dwell with them with understanding and give honor to her as a weaker vessel. Are you doing God’s will?

Kids, you know what God’s will is in your home. Are you doing God’s will? I see a curse in this generation of kids. No progress. At a young age, they are slaves to all bad habits. God has given them up to the disease of lust. The New Year celebration in Bangalore was a terrible scene. Is it beginning to become Sodom and Gomorrah? Be warned: the wrath of God is coming on this city. Children, obey your parents. It is the only command with a promise, a long life and blessing all your life. That is God’s will. Are you doing God’s will?

Church, God’s will is that we be a holy people, zealous for good works, and energetic, full of energy. Not always watching TV, wasting precious time God has given us on video games, the internet, and YouTube. All this free data! We use it. What’s the use? Think about it. All gossip. We watch for hours. What a waste of time. First, take care of your body with stamina in holiness. Are you lazy to go out and do some exercise and take care of your body? Your mind and body are dull. You have no energy, and you’re eating all fatty items. You have no energy to do work at home, worldly responsibilities, or kingdom work. Is this being like an angel? Get up and go out and do something. Join somebody who can encourage you to go for a walk every day and exercise. If not, come with me. Our land is next to two parks, nicely arranged, with wonderful gym equipment. Go daily and walk. Develop stamina, not just to do your own work, but to overflow and do a lot of work for the church and society. God’s word says that we should read his word day and night. He promises all success to the person who does that. You know God’s will, yet night and day, you are poking that mobile phone. Stop always poking the mobile phone; take the Bible in hand and read God’s word regularly. We need to pray and always be filled with a spirit of prayer. Let’s make our houses fragrant with prayer and grow in prayer. We say, “No time, all disturbances.” Sleep early and get up at 6 a.m. That is God’s will. At home, husbands love, wives obey, children obey, and have daily family devotion.

It is his will that we be a witness to this perishing world. We pray for our neighbors, seeking to reach the people next to us, seeking to reach the people who work with us and study with us. So, we pray, “Thy will be done in me, my family, the church, and society.”

What hypocrites are they who kneel down in the church and lift up their eyes to heaven and say, “Thy will be done,” and yet have no care at all to do God’s will! What is this but to hang out a flag of defiance against heaven! Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft.

Why do angels do his will like this? Exclusively, completely, immediately, continually, fervently, with a pure motive, and delightfully? What is the secret of the angels’ energy? Do you have an answer? I think I have one answer. One reason is Matthew 18:10: “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always behold the face of My Father who is in heaven.” Luke 1:19: “And the angel answered and said to him, ‘I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.'” Gabriel stands in the presence of God. Why do angels do his will like this? This is the answer: standing in the presence of God, gazing upon his face, their hearts are captivated by the beauty of God, and their hearts respond by doing the will of God. As they gaze at the beauty and glory of God and the sum total of his pleasing attributes, angels behold his perfections, his love, his mercy, and his holiness. Do you realize that if God created all this beauty in this world, what beauty he must be? Every beauty we see was created by God. Seeing his wisdom and glory, they know that whatever this kind of God says is the best wisdom and is most perfectly good for them because he is good. They know that what he says is perfect love for them because he is love. They are captured by the beauty of God. They have no doubts or questions about the rightness of God. Doing his will is the most blessed thing for everyone. They are so eager to do it.

If I am to pray and do God’s will as in heaven, then I must daily behold the face of God. For obedience staggers and stops when I stop to see his face. You cannot spend time with God in a secret place, enjoy his presence, and see his beauty without saying from your heart, “Anything you say is perfect, I will do that.” You know why some of you are disobedient and find it difficult to do God’s will? It is because you do not behold the beauty of God in a secret place.

This is why David was a man after God’s own heart. He said, “I have found a man after my own heart, who will do all my will.” Why did he do all God’s will? He saw God’s beauty. Is it not our conscience that makes us obedient, so we will not outwardly disobey? We are like that child who says, “I am sitting on the outside, but I am standing on the inside.”

Note the picture of heaven in Revelation 22:3: “His servants shall serve him and see his face.” Both are put together. What will give us all eternity a glad, never-dying spring of desire to serve and obey God? Because we will continually see his face. Captured by his beauty, obeying such a God is most thrilling.

Why Should We Do God’s Will?

Not doing His will is called sin. Not to do God’s will is very dangerous for us because it is doing Satan’s will. “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” (John 8:44). Not doing God’s will is dangerous. It brings a spiritual curse. We, as God’s people, are converted and promised to live for God’s will; we vowed in baptism. This vow we have often renewed in the Lord’s Supper. If we do not do God’s will on earth, God will indict us for perjury. “Not everyone who says, ‘Lord, Lord…'” (Matthew 7:21).

Reasons for Obeying God’s Will

  1. Equity/Right. It is His just claim; He is our Creator and provider. It is our basic duty to obey Him, unless we are maddened by sin.
  2. God’s design. The great design of God in the Word is to make us doers of His will. Why did God go to the pains of giving us a copy of His law and writing it out with His own finger, if not for this end? It’s not just for knowledge, but so we will do it.
  • The end of all God’s promises is to draw us to do His will. The promises are motivations to obedience.
  • The great warnings and threatenings of God in the Word stand as an angel with a flaming sword to deter us from sin and make us doers of God’s will. “A curse if you will not obey” (Deuteronomy 11:28). These threatenings often take hold of men in this life; they are made examples and hung up in chains to scare others from disobedience. Think of Noah, Sodom, and Israel, among many examples.
  • All God’s providences are to make us doers of His will. All disciplines in life are to make us doers of God’s will.
  • Afflictions are sent to us to make us do God’s will. The rod has this voice: “Be doers of God’s will.”
  • God’s mercies are to make us do His will. “I beseech you therefore, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice” (Romans 12:1). The kindness of God leads to repentance and doing God’s will.
  1. Certificate of Conversion. Heaven accepts only one certificate of our conversion and testimony (Matthew 7:22). Not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will be accepted.
  2. Show Your Love. By doing God’s will, we show our love to Christ. “He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me” (John 14:21).
  3. It is for Our Benefit. To do God’s will is for our benefit. It promotes our own self-interest. It is as if a king commanded a subject to dig in a mine of gold and gave him all the gold he had dug. God bids us do His will, and that is for our good. “And now, Israel, what does the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to keep the commandments of the Lord, which I command thee this day for thy good?” (Deuteronomy 10:13). It is God’s will that we should repent, and this is for our good, for repentance ushers in remission. “Repent, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). It is God’s will that we should believe; and why is it, but that we should be crowned with salvation? “He that believes, shall be saved” (Mark 16:16). What God wills, is not so much our duty, as our privilege. He bids us obey His voice, and it is greatly for our good.
  4. Become Like Christ. To do God’s will on earth makes us like Christ, and akin to Him. Jesus Christ did His Father’s will. “I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (John 6:38). “My food is to do the will of him that sent me” (John 4:34). By doing God’s will on earth, we resemble Christ. In fact, we are akin to Him and are of the royal blood of heaven. “Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:50).
  5. Peace in Life and Death. Doing God’s will on earth brings peace in life and death.
  • In life: “In keeping them [thy precepts] there is great reward,” not only after keeping them, but in keeping them (Psalm 19:11). When we walk closely with God in obedience, there is a secret joy let into the soul.
  • In death: When Hezekiah thought he was about to die, what gave him comfort? That he had done the will of God. “Remember O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth, and have done that which is good in thy sight” (Isaiah 38:3). It was Augustus’s wish that he might have an easy death, without much pain. If anything makes our pillow easy at death, it will be that we have endeavored to do God’s will on earth.

Application and Reproof

Use 1. For instruction. God sets angels as a pattern for our obedience. This is a high standard; with indwelling sin, we don’t have that power. We see our impotence. We have no innate power to do God’s will. What need is there to pray, “Thy will be done,” if we have power of ourselves to do it?

Use 2. Let us examine all our actions Let us examine all our actions to see if they are according to God’s will. The will of God is the rule and standard: it is the sundial by which we must regulate all our actions. Let us examine everything to see if it is according to God’s will.

  1. Are our speeches according to His will? Are our words savory, being seasoned with grace? No bad words should proceed from our mouth, no scornful, insulting words; only what will build others up in edification.
  2. Is our apparel according to God’s will? “Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.”
  3. Is our diet according to God’s will? God’s will is not to be gluttons; but to maintain our body in sanctification. Do we hold our tongue and only take so much as may satisfy nature rather than overindulge?
  4. We pray, “Thy will be done as it is in heaven.” Are we like our pattern? Would the angels do this if they were on earth? Would Jesus Christ do this?

This is the sum of all Christian religion; the two tables of the 10 commands are epitomized in this: “Thy will be done.” We must know His will before we can do it, but though knowledge of the will is requisite, yet the knowledge of God’s will is not enough without doing it. If one had a complete knowledge of God’s word in his head; if he had “all knowledge,” yet, if obedience were wanting, his knowledge is vain and would not carry him to heaven. Actually, just knowing without doing God’s will will bring a curse on us and make punishment more severe. It will make hell hotter. “That servant who knew his Lord’s will,” and did not do it, “shall be beaten with many stripes” (Luke 12:47).

  1. Let us be doers of the will of God, “Thy will be done.” It is our wisdom to do God’s will. “Keep and do [these statutes], for this is your wisdom” (Deuteronomy 4:6). Further, it is our safety. Has not misery always attended the doing of our own will, and happiness the doing of God’s will? (1) Misery has always attended the doing of our own will. Our first parents left God’s will to fulfill their own, in eating the forbidden fruit; and what came of it? The apple had a bitter core in it; they purchased a curse for themselves and all their posterity. King Saul left God’s will to do his own; he spared Agog and the best of the sheep, and what was the result but the loss of his kingdom? (2) Happiness has always attended the doing of God’s will. Joseph obeyed God’s will in refusing the embrace of his mistress; and was not this his preferment? God raised him to be the second man in the kingdom. Daniel did God’s will contrary to the king’s decree; he bowed his knee in prayer to God, and did not God make all Persia bow their knees to Daniel? (3) The way to have our will is to do God’s will. Would we have a blessing in our estate? Let us do God’s will. “If you shall listen to the voice of the Lord thy God, to do all his commandments, the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field” (Deuteronomy 28:1, 3). This is the way to have a good harvest. Would we have a blessing in our souls? Let us do God’s will. “Obey my voice, and I will be your God”: I will grant myself to you, as an everlasting portion; my grace shall be yours to sanctify you, my mercy shall be yours to save you (Jeremiah 7:23). You see you lose nothing by doing God’s will; it is the way to have your own will. Let God have His will in being obeyed, and you shall have your will in being saved.

How to prepare ourselves to do God’s will correctly?

  1. Get sound knowledge. We must know His will before we can do it; knowledge is the eye to direct the foot of obedience. We must know God’s will before we can do it correctly.
  2. Labor for self-denial. Unless we deny our own will, we shall never do God’s will. His will and ours are like the wind and tide when they are contrary. He wills one thing, we will another; He calls us to be crucified to the world, but by nature we love the world; He calls us to forgive our enemies, but by nature we bear malice in our hearts. His will and ours are contrary, and until we can cross our own will, we shall never fulfill His. In other words, as Romans 12 says, “I beseech you therefore, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice.” Why? Because of sin, pride and self are first for us. As believers, we have to present ourselves as a living sacrifice through self-denial and humility. This is our “reasonable service and be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you might know what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
  3. Get humble hearts. Pride is the spring of disobedience. “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice?” (Exodus 5:2). A proud man thinks it below him to stoop to God’s will. Be humble. The humble son says, “Lord what wilt thou have me to do?” He puts, as it were, a blank paper into God’s hand and bids Him write what He will, and he will subscribe to it.
  4. Beg grace and strength. Beg grace and strength from God to do His will. “Teach me to do thy will” (Psalm 143:10). It is as if David had said, “Lord, I need not be taught to do my own will, I can do it fast enough, but teach me to do thy will.” And that which may add wings to prayer, is God’s gracious promise, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes” (Ezekiel 36:27).

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