Pray for His Will

   “When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.  And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, ‘Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.’” (Matt 8: 2)

   This passage from the gospel teaches an important lesson, that we are to ask for God's will in our prayers and petitions.  We are to yearn for His will, not ours.

   The leper did not walk up to Jesus with certain expectation of being healed.  He didn’t seem to believe that he deserved to be healed or that it was his right.  When he approached Jesus he first did Him homage, most likely on his knees or prostrate before the Lord.  He didn’t demand that he be healed, he sought the will of God, “If you wish, you can make me clean.”   In other words, “If it is your will, make me clean.”

   Too many times we approach God like we would an ATM.  We put in our prayers, ask for what we want, and expect to get it.  If not, we wonder why God doesn’t answer our prayers.  We forget that He knows what is best for us and will never give us anything that is not helpful in our journey to Him.  If His answer to our prayer is no, it is because He has something better in mind.  If His answer is “not yet” it may be because our spiritual life is not ready for what we asked.

   We don’t know what to ask of our Lord; our expectations and desires are skewed by sin.  Our prayer should always be, “God, in all things, in all ways, at all times, Your will be done”.  In this way we may be made holy by seeking and following the will of God.

We pray for the wrong things.

We see things through sinful eyes.

Teach us to pray as we should.

Teach us to pray for Your will in all things.

Amen