We are people of action, driven to accomplish goals. God also has goals. We typically refer to it as “the will of God.” Jesus instructed us to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” So we seek the will of God, and we pray to be in the will of God. And we wonder, “how do I know for sure if I am in God’s will; doing what God would have me do.” There is one acid test: the prayer Jesus prayed in John 17; God’s ultimate will. What can we apprehend from His prayer?
RELEVANCE
Jesus saved the best for last. Right before He was crucified He prayed the Father’s will. Look at these key issues He raised. They serve to set primary parameters defining what constitutes God’s will. He asked:
The Son would glorify the Father
Eternal life be given to as many as the Father has given to the Son
We would know the Father and the Son
We would be one with the Father and Son
We would have Christ’s joy fulfilled in us
We would be kept from the evil one
We would be sanctified by the truth
The world would believe that the Father sent the Son
We would be made perfect in one
Those whom the Father gave to the Son would be with Him where He is
We would behold His glory
The love with which the Father loved the Son would be in us
REFLECT AND RELATE
Meditate on what Jesus was asking. Ask God to reveal how each of these components of His will is served through your life; your decisions, actions, service, relationships, goals, aspirations, vocation. The more you head in the direction of these areas and find yourself in alignment with these aspects of God’s ultimate will, the more you will be certain you are in God’s will.
REFERENCES
Matthew 5:3-16; 6:9-15