Warren Wiersbe says that, from time to time, he has counseled with people who were actually afraid of the will of God. They were terrified at the thought of surrendering themselves completely to him. The idea disturbed them because they had concluded that the will of God was something painful and perilous, that it was something that must be avoided. Why? Because they were sure that if they yielded themselves to Christ, they would be sent to some distant and dangerous place where they would waste away in oblivion. There would be no joy, no adventure in living, no love or marriage—just loneliness and a monochrome miserable existence. (Warren W. Wiersbe, On Earth As It Is in Heaven, p. 79).
In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Can he possibly be telling us to ask for something in prayer that would actually be opposed to our best interests? Would Jesus do that? Isn’t it more likely that Jesus tells us to pray this way because, actually, the will of God is the way to fulfillment and purpose in life? Doing what God wants—even if it goes against what we want and even if it is painful at them time—isn’t it not only not a barrier to happiness, but isn’t it really the path to true and lasting joy?
Why else would Paul pray as he does here in Colossians? Look at what he asks for on our behalf. He prays that we would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will—not just mildly aware of it or partially acquainted with it but filled with it. You’ll see that in verse 9, where Paul writes, “We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will.”
But that’s just the beginning. Paul also makes three other requests—not only for his first readers but also for us. After asking that we may know God’s will, he prays that we would do God’s will. Verse 9 flows into verse 10. Paul says, “We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will…, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work.” You see, not only does Paul pray that we may know God’s will but that we may desire to do God’s will.
And, third, that we may persist in God’s will. Look at verse 11. There Paul writes, “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.” Notice the words “endurance” and “patience.” Paul’s prayer is that we may not only know and do the will of God but that God will give us the strength to keep on doing his will, even when it is difficult, even when it is costly.
And, fourth, Paul prays that we would not just do God’s will out of duty but that we will do it with grateful hearts, “giving thanks,” he says in verse 12—“giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
“Thanks” is mentioned last but it covers all that goes before us. We do God’s will—we want to do God’s will and we want to persist in doing it—because we are grateful for all that he has done for us. We don’t do God’s will to win God’s favor; we do God’s will in response to his favor. In verse 13, Paul says of the Father that “he has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” You see, it is because God has done this for us that we want to know and do God’s will and to persist in doing it with grateful hearts. God’s grace toward us and his good work in us leads to our good works for him—not the other way around.
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer and we come to that third petition—“Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”—this is what we’re praying for. That we would know and do God’s will and persist in doing it because we are grateful for all that he has done for us in Christ.
So, how does that look in practice? To answer that question, let me direct you first to what Paul says in Ephesians 5:17, and what he says is: “Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” In other words, we are to make an effort to know God’s will. And that will require a growing degree of familiarity with the Bible. It will be important for us to be able to recall such verses as 1 Thessalonians 4:3, which says, “This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.” Or 1 Thessalonians 5:18, which says, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” And there are others, such as 1 Peter 2:15, where we read: “For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people.” As I say, knowing such verses is important, but it is not enough.
You must also cultivate discernment so that you can choose the will of God in situations the Bible does not cover. Romans 12:2 says “that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
So, you will want to understand what God’s will is as it is laid out for you in the Bible, and you will want to develop the power of discernment so that you will know what to do when there is no specific instruction from the Bible. And there is a third thing. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.” There will be times when you will have to act without time for reflection, and you will need to train your mind to do so in ways that are faithful to God’s will.
What do you think of all that? Let me tell you: If you will seek to know and do God’s will with a grateful heart—and if you will rely on the strength God gives to persist in doing his will—you will have much greater assurance of your standing with God. The more you choose God’s ways over your own, the more assured you will be that you are his child.
Knowing and doing God’s will also bring you peace of mind. I’m not saying that you will not meet with resistance if you seek to do God’s will. No, the truth is: people and circumstances will stand in your way. But while doing God’s will may not lead to peace around you, it will definitely lead to peace within you.
Along with assurance and peace, there will be joy. Real joy comes from being reconciled to God. It is one of the evidences of the Spirit’s presence in your life (Gal. 5:22). When you consistently desire, discover, and do God’s will, you will feel a resonance with God that is deeply satisfying.
And, in addition, you will experience contentment. Granted, doing the will of God may result in loss, even deprivation, but when we embrace God’s will, we come to say with the Apostle Paul, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Phil. 4:11).
Isn’t this really what you want? You pray for it when you say the Lord’s Prayer, when you pray, as Jesus taught us, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The Lord’s Prayer is sometimes called “the Disciple’s Prayer.” We all know that being a disciple entails progress. Sometimes it’s two steps forward, one step back, but nevertheless we all yearn to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). Can you see yourself experiencing that growth? You have a decision to make, and you are confident in knowing which direction to go. You are aware of the many ways the tempter, the people around you, and maybe even your own tendencies will try to dissuade you from making the right choice. It may even be a painful choice. But you will make it, fully assured that it is pleasing to God—and that will be your foremost consideration, not how hard it is, how costly, or how unpopular. Your heart’s desire will be to do what God wills. It’s what you have prayed for in the Lord’s Prayer, and it is what you long for in your daily life. And doing God’s will will bring you the highest level of satisfaction you can imagine. Isn’t that the direction you want to go?
So, how do you do it? How do you go about consistently knowing and doing God’s will with a grateful heart? As we saw in Romans 12:2, we “discern what is the will of God” by “testing” things with a renewed mind. We start with a new way of thinking, a new mindset, a new pattern of assessing and assigning value to the option we have before us.
The opposite of a renewed mind is a mind characterized by “futility” and “darkened in…understanding” (Eph. 4:17f.). It will look at a choice that has to be made in a different way from a renewed mind. It will look at things…
• from a temporal perspective rather than from an eternal perspective
• from a concern for self-interest rather than from a concern for God or others’ interests
• from their potential for temporary gain rather than their potential for long-term gain
• from an interest in pleasure rather than from an interest in integrity
So, the first thing that has to happen, if we are to discover, delight in, and pursue the will of God, is this: the mind must be renewed.
How does this take place? It is completely a work of grace in the heart, which means that it is solely a work of God. You and I cannot manufacture it. But we can be alert to indicators that God may be working on us and in us. For example, we find ourselves convicted of our sin to the point that we not only acknowledge it but we are sorrowful over it. It is important, to be sure, to admit that we are sinners, but many people actually boast that they are sinners. We need to grieve over our sin—not only because of the consequences to us but also because of the offense it represents to God.
A second indicator is an increased interest in the gospel, a desire to know more about what Christ has done for sinners, with a personal interest in understanding it more fully. If you are inquiring after such things, that is a sign that God is working in your heart.
If these sorts of things are happening to you, it means that God is drawing you to Himself, and these are the first few steps toward a renewed mind.
But even a renewed mind—a new way of thinking that exalts God and renounces sin—even such a mind as this needs to be filled with new truths. And new truths do not come automatically. They have to be learned. That means sticking your nose into the Bible, not just for academic study, not just to collect biblical facts or search out biblical history, as fascinating as those things may be, but to be addressed by the Bible, to have your false hopes exposed and to find your only hope, your true hope in God.
But, as we said before, not every situation in life is covered by the Bible. We need to develop a kind of intuitive grasp about right and wrong from God’s point of view. One way to do that is to track those times our besetting sins thrust themselves upon us. Are you given to angry outbursts? Ask yourself: When does that happen? When did it happen last? What were the circumstances? Who was involved? When might it happen again? How can I prepare for it? Then pray. Ask God to check your habitual reactions. Or, is gossip your biggest problem? Do the same thing. Ask the questions. Prepare yourself for possible temptations to gossip. And ask God to intervene. What you’re doing is learning to rely on Him and His grace for the strength you don’t have in yourself. This is not a self-help, self-improvement agenda. No. It is a process of transferring your dependency on sinful reactions to a dependency on God to help you respond faithfully when the unexpected happens.
That is really what desiring, discovering and doing the will of God consistently amounts to. It is an expression of dependence on him—relying on his wisdom rather than our own, leaning not to our understanding but in all our ways acknowledging him, looking not to our strength but depending on the strength he gives. It means making his ways our ways. That’s what we pray for when we say, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
