In

connection with praying “Your kingdom come,” Jesus taught us to

say, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in ­heaven”

(Matthew 6:10).

As

we have noted earlier, we can sometimes feel uncertain whether the

things we pray for are in line with God’s will. Or perhaps we might

think that our confidence is somehow ­diminished if we say,

“. . . if it be your will” as we pray.

While

God’s will is deeply mysterious, there is also something very

reassuring about it. Praying “your will be done” does not mean we

fully understand God’s will. This is mostly a prayer that expresses

our desire to do God’s will. And that is a prayer of strong

conviction. It conveys our trust in the goodness of God’s will and

our assurance that God will carry out his purposes. And, remember,

praying within God’s will is about following Jesus’ example (see

Sept. 6).

Today’s

Bible reading shows that even Jesus wrestled with his Father’s will

and submitted to it. The result of that prayerful struggle was that

Jesus could say with firm resolve, “Rise! Let us go! Here comes my

betrayer!” His connection with the Father was the source of his

strength.

A

book about prayer that I have grown to appreciate has an interesting

title. It’s called Yielding.

There is nothing weak about submitting to God. Yield­ing

to God’s will is the very thing that strengthens us.