Why is it so hard to pray for God’s will to be done during difficult times in our lives?
Am I the only one who struggles with this?
I know the scriptures tell me to trust God, and that His ways are bigger than mine, and that He knows what He’s doing… I get all of that in my head, but my heart desperately struggles to be at peace with being able to pray, “Thy will be done.”
Over the years I’ve tried to adapt my prayers — to not push my own agenda, but to truly trust that God has it all under control and that He really does know what’s best for us. So instead of praying specifically for a certain outcome, many times I’ve just prayed for His will. But today, if I’m being completely honest with you, I’m having a really hard time doing that.
You see, recently, we’ve been bombarded with cancer diagnoses. We have several close friends and family members who’ve been undergoing chemo, radiation, surgeries, scans and treatments. Today, as I write this blog, a dear friend and member of our small group bible study at church is having a mastectomy. She’s a woman in her thirties, with three young children who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
Some of you may remember that David’s dad, Keith, has been undergoing different treatments for cancer this year. A few weeks ago, we learned that his cancer has spread to other areas of his body. His doctor told him to “get his affairs in order.” It’s been extremely difficult to wrap our hearts around this. We don’t have regrets. It’s not like Keith hasn’t been influential in our lives or that he hasn’t taught us life lessons. We’ve had lots of memory-makers over the years. We’ve had family vacations, fishing trips, cook-outs, and family get-togethers. He’s shared crazy stories from his childhood with us. He’s tucked our kids in when they were younger and told them bedtime adventure stories. Our kids have gone fishing with him and he’s taught them how to “dress a fish” (which much to our daughter’s surprise didn’t include any ruffles or lace!) My problem isn’t about having regrets at all… it’s just that I want more of these moments. I’m not ready for them to end.
Another family member is finishing up chemo and waiting to find out results of a PET scan to determine if the treatments were successful.
Deep down, I know that God’s will is best, but that doesn’t mean I don’t struggle with what He sometimes chooses. I’m working at trusting Him more each day, even when I don’t fully understand.
I like what bestselling author, Joyce Meyer writes,
God wants us to come to a place in our relationship with Him where we trust that He’s in control and He has our best interest at heart even when our situation doesn’t seem fair. He wants us to be able to rest in Him and have His peace that surpasses our understanding in every circumstance we face.
So how do we practically live by faith? We do it by what we pray, say and the actions we take. It’s vital for us to agree with God and His Word to effectively release our faith in Him. So we need to study the Word to know what God’s will is and the many promises He’s made to us.
Pray according to His will, say what you believe He’s promised you, and take God-inspired action, doing what you know to do in every situation. Choose to believe what the Bible says more than you believe what you feel, think and what other people say. And remember that God is pleased by your faith, He’s on your side and He wants to help you.
Faith in God is the key to trusting Him in every circumstance. Walking by faith means when there are unanswered questions, we can be okay with that because God is in control and we’re determined to trust Him no matter what.
God is so good and so awesome that He can take anything that is harmful or painful and turn it around for our good, and the good of a lot of other people, too. So whatever you’re going through today, take a step of faith and pray, “God, I know You love me. I trust You. My times are in Your hands, and I know all things in my life will work together for good because I love You and I’m called according to Your purpose!”
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