"With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6: 6-8)

“Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we pray in the words Jesus taught us. But what did Jesus mean when he said, “your will?”

There has been many a discussion about the will of God in our world. “It was God’s will” is a phrase that people use to explain why all kinds of things happen, from success and happiness, to tragedy and destruction. When we presume to understand the will of God in the specific events of our lives, we have a very good chance of getting it wrong, of misunderstanding the phrase, “your will be done.”
It has been said that tonight’s scripture passage from the prophet Micah contains “the will of God in a nutshell.” (French, 52)

Micah was speaking to the people of Israel while they were in the midst of some trouble. Things had been going badly for them, and in an attempt to turn things around, they were trying to figure out what they could do to make God happy with them again.

They were trying to bargain with and bribe God. They were trying to figure out exactly what God would have them do in order to change their situation. They thought that, perhaps if they offered sacrifices, God would be satisfied and things would get better.

Perhaps you’ve been in a similar situation, trying to figure out what to do so God will provide the outcome you desire. “God, if only … I will never … again. You fill in the blank.

It was Micah’s job to remind them of exactly what God required – that is, God’s will for them, which is also God’s will for us. Micah didn’t mince words.
God has told you what the Lord requires of you. Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.

God’s will for us is for our well being, and for the well being of all of God’s creation. When we pray for God’s will to be done, we should remember that “the good and gracious will of God is done in the world without our prayer, but we pray that God’s will might also be done by us.” (Small Catechism, Third Petition of the Lord’s Prayer)

Micah reminds us of that God wants, and so we pray that we not only do God’s will – do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God, but that in doing God’s will, we will realize God’s kingdom on earth.

When we pray “your will be done,” we are not asking that things come out right as we want things to come out, but rather we are asking that God’s will be done. Too often, we are conditioned to think of prayer as asking God for what we want… But now, in praying that God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are attempting to school ourselves to want what God wants. (French, p 57, quoting Willimon and Hauerwas)

We can only imagine what our world would be like if every person, every leader, would pray each day for God’s will to be done.

Prayer for Today (written by Thomas Merton)

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.