The Most Radical Prayer

"Thy will be done . . ."

I have been thinking about those four words all day today. I have often prayed them, usually as part of the Lord's prayer and often without thinking about them. But they are perhaps the most radical prayer . . . ever.

If you are a Christ follower and you pray this, do you realize what you are saying? Are you (am I?) really saying that we trust God enough that we are willing to submit everything for his will to be done? It is a powerful prayer of ultimate submission, giving God your blessing for Him to do anything he thinks necessary.

What if God's will meant that you would have to endure hardship, pain, even extreme suffering? What is his long term plan meant short term pain for you? You can see why this is a radical prayer. It requires radical faith to go along with it. I wonder - in our coddled North American church how many of us have this kind of faith? Our penchant for avoiding any "unnecessary suffering" is so strong. Anyway, if you are looking to contemplate and meditate on some scripture lately but don't know what - I encourage you to start with the radical stuff. May we pray along with Jesus - "Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in heaven." And may we mean to mean it from the bottom of our hearts . . .