God's Will

Do you ever feel like you can’t please anyone? Or, do you ever feel that you can’t please everyone? 

It’s normal to want to please those we love. However, we’re wise to realize that we can’t please everyone. Not even Jesus pleased everyone. So how do we prioritize who we please? We follow Jesus’ example, who was well-pleasing to the Father as Matthew 11:25-26 points out. “At that time Jesus said, ‘I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.Yes, Father, for this way was well-pleasing in Your sight.’”

John 8:29 further points out that Jesus pleased His Father. “He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”

If you’re in a quandary about how to live so that you please your Heavenly Father, follow Jesus’s example.

• Jesus used Scripture to stand against temptation. We can do that.
• Jesus reached out to others in love. We can do that.
• Jesus prayed before making decisions. We can do that.
• Jesus followed His Father’s leading rather than His own impulses and initiative. We can do that.

There is no one more important for us to please than our Heavenly Father. We can do that. 

Heavenly Father, as Jesus was WELL-PLEASING to You, help me please You. 

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Did you ever watch the TV show, “Mr. Ed” about a talking horse? While it was a fun show to watch, we all know horses can’t talk. However, there is an incident in the Bible in Numbers 22 when God used a donkey to get through to a man who was going in a direction God had forbidden. Yes, a man named Balaam was riding his donkey when suddenly the donkey stopped and refused to budge. What the donkey saw that the man didn’t see was an angel of the Lord with a drawn sword blocking the path. It begs us to consider if we are like the man, ignoring God’s warnings, or like the donkey, paying attention. If we want to be smarter than a donkey, or at least as smart and our eyes open to God’s will, it’s important for us to stay close to God. One way we do that is through prayer. Deepen your prayer life. Pray with Purpose, Live with Passion will help you.

Listen Are We Smarter Than a Donkey?

I have a question for you. Is it true that whatever we ask in prayer, believing, we will receive? Yes or no? _____ What is your Scripture reference? If you said yes and provided Matthew 21:22 as your source, then why didn’t God answer Jesus’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane? Certainly, Jesus asked in prayer, believing. On a more personal level, why doesn’t God answer the prayers of the faithful to heal their dying loved one? I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I do know that it is important for us to take the whole counsel of God rather than “cherry pick” verses. In the context of prayer, Jesus has already taught His disciples important, foundational principles of prayer in “The Lord’s Prayer.” We have a Father in heaven who alone is holy. He has a kingdom and will. Twice in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus referenced God’s kingdom – at the beginning and end of the prayer. It was clearly on His mind and a central part of His teaching on prayer. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus echoed Matthew 6:10, “Your will be done,” even while He allowed us to hear His “Son of Man” desire to avoid suffering, shame, and separation. As disciples of Christ it is critical for us to study and know the whole counsel of God. In the context of today’s question, we must remember Christ’s foundational teaching on prayer – praying God’s will. First John 5:14-15 is helpful. “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.” Can you trust your life and loved ones to God’s will?

Heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for not only teaching us how to pray but for also modeling it. We love and adore You. Help us be wise stewards of Your word by our words and life. 

Prayer of My Heart – where I record my prayers and my Heavenly Father’s responses. Available on Amazon.