Let Your Will Be Done

As I was watching the sun set from the top of the rocky/sandy mountain I was fully captivated by the goodness of our creator. The sky was beautiful and I was looking out at a beautiful city surrounded by beautiful mountains. I was so thankful in that moment that God graciously has allowed me to be a part of the work that He is doing not only in Trujillo, but also around the world. In my awe, all I wanted to do in that moment was worship the Lord, so I pulled out my phone and shuffled a playlist on my phone with all my favorite songs that remind me of God’s goodness. 

At the top of the mountain, singing out to God and taking in my beautiful surroundings, I felt compelled to pray for the city. As I was praying the song “Maybe It’s Ok” by We Are Messengers came on. During the part of the song that sings “Father let your kingdom come, let your will be done, here in my heart as in heaven,” I started contemplating those lyrics. At first, I was just praying this over the city. However, it took me a while to realize I was praying “let your will be done here on EARTH as in heaven” and not “here in my HEART.” 

I prayed it this way for a few different reasons. 

1. That’s what is said in scripture. Matthew 6:9-13 is where Jesus teaches His disciples how to pray and He says “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on EARTH as it is in heaven” 

2. I never realized that the song sang heart and not earth. I have sung this song many many times and yet this was the first time I had noticed it. 

3. I’m on the world race to reach the nations. Since training camp I have been learning a lot about the kingdom of heaven and how since Jesus has come little pieces of heaven are showing up all around the world as His work is being done. So of course I’m going to pray for the city I am serving as well as the cities I will be going to in the next 10 months to see God’s will being done and to catch glimpses of heaven to bring hope to this dark world. 

When I realized the song was saying heart, at first I just ignored it and continued to pray that His will be done on earth. However, the Spirit nudged me to dive deeper into this wording. In doing so, and in processing what my role is in God’s kingdom, I have come to realize that in order to pray for His will to be done and to actually ask Him to allow me to be apart of it, I first have to allow the Lord to work in my heart and have His way in my life. If I do not devote my own heart to Christ, how can I expect to be obedient to Him and to actually be a light reflecting Him. 

Further, I’ve also realized that allowing Him to have His way in my heart does not mean that I’m going to have it all together. This month has been really hard for me. More often than not I have not been okay. I have struggled with pain and have been facing lies the enemy has been whispering to me all my life. I have questioned myself and my ability to do what He has called me to. 

Of course, God does not use perfect people who have it all together. Scripture is filled with stories of people He used who had issues of their own. However, He didn’t just use any broken or disobedient person. He used the people, who despite their brokenness and tendency toward disobedience, were full of repentance and willing to allow the Spirit to change them. 

The biggest example of this in scripture is the life of David. I was listening to a podcast (link below) about the life of David and how even though he messed up in big ways (adultery which led to the death of many) he was still considered a man after God’s own heart. Commenting on this, they suggested that the difference between David and others (and why he was still considered a man after God’s own heart) was his repentance. After David was confronted with his sin, he wrote psalm 51. 

The whole thing is super great and you should totally go read it, but the verses that really stands out to me are 10-13 & 17 which say “Create in me a pure heart, O God and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me. THEN I will teach transgressors your ways so that sinners will turn back to you… My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.” David sees that what he did was wrong and he still wants to be used by God. He asks the Lord to renew his joy and he offers his heart as a sacrifice to the Lord. This shows he’s willing to give his heart to God to allow Him to have His way in his life and continue using him as king. 

For me, I realize that it’s okay that this was a rough month for me. God still used me in cool ways. He also Used the rough time to draw me closer to Him and speak Truth over the lies I tend to believe. It’s okay that I have a messy past and it’s okay that I’m still learning to trust God in all aspects of my life. So long as I give Him my heart, allow Him to have His way in me, He will not despise me and by His grace I will be able to witness and join Him in His kingdom around the world. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bible-binge/id1347735219?i=1000421258000