The posture behind ‘God willing’
Jesus taught us how to pray and in Luke 22:42 Jesus said, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” If we’re being honest, how often is our heart posture in prayer “NOT my will, but yours be done?” Do we really face our trials that way? Freedom is found when we yield our desires to God’s will, trusting His ways are higher and better than our own.
A Visual Aid: King Hezekiah
I think we’re a lot like a guy in the Bible who was also a king named Hezekiah. We learn a little bit about him in 2 Kings 20:1-3, “In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah…went to him and said, ‘This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.’ Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, ‘Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.’ And Hezekiah wept bitterly.”
I think a lot of us can relate to those bitter tears when the direction we’re headed in is not where we want to go!
The plot thickens
BUT then there’s this plot twist in 2 Kings 20:5b, Isaiah tells Hezekiah that God “has heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.” Wow! Not only that, but Isaiah relays to Hezekiah that God will add fifteen years to his life! Hezekiah was given an opportunity not everyone is afforded. He knew his death was imminent, that he needed to put his affairs in order, and that it was time to say his goodbyes.
Whose will again?
Scripture tells us that God gave Moses the same opportunity and that Jesus also knew that his time had come to die. But neither Moses nor Jesus asked for more time. However, Hezekiah prayed for more time, for his will to be done, not God’s.
The Apostle Paul was in a similar place – God’s will or his own. In Philippians 1:21, Paul wrote, “To live is Christ and to die is gain.” We either believe that or we don’t.
Be mindful of what you pray for
So, God gave Hezekiah “his will” and we see the result of that in Hezekiah’s story. After God restores Hezekiah’s health and he’s back to leading his country, he shows off the treasures in his palace to some men from a distant country. This elicits a major rebuke from the prophet Isaiah. Then Hezekiah’s son, Manasseh, is also born three years after God extended his life. Hezekiah eventually dies, and we learn in 2 Kings 21 that Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and that he did much evil in the eyes of the Lord.
When God lets us have our own way, it’s generally not a good thing, and it often creates additional problems for ourselves and others.
Our posture in prayer matters
So, pay attention to your heart posture in prayer! Do you want God’s will? James 4:3 tells us “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” I pray my posture can be more ‘God willing’ and less about seeking God to bless my own plans and desires. Check your motives when you pray, and then mean it when you say, “not my will but yours be done.” Power and freedom are found in seeking God’s will over your own.