Prayer and God's Will

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

-- 1 Thessalonians 5:14

Somebody posted a humorous expression of his or her sense of frustration on a bulletin board in the office. It reads, “God put me on earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now, I am so far behind I will never die!”

Many of us carry through life the idea that God’s will for us is to get some tasks accomplished – important tasks – stuff that we are uniquely gifted by God to do. We have the uneasy sense that God isn’t going to be happy with us – or we aren’t going to be happy with ourselves – until we figure out what those tasks are and get ‘em done.

A study of God’s Will in the Bible doesn’t seem to help us much when we come with our specific questions: “Who should I marry?” “Where should I live?” “What career path is God’s will for me?” The Bible doesn’t list names, places or jobs. It says we should be joyful all the time, always in touch with God, and thankful, no matter what. That’s God will those of us in Christ Jesus.

Interesting… This angle on God’s will sounds very parental – lovingly parental. Ask a mother what she wants for her child and you’ll probably hear, “I want Johnny to be happy. Well, you know, a good person – and happy. I don’t care what he does if he finds somebody who loves him – and always knows that I love him.” Now, if you pressed that mother and asked her if it mattered if Johnny ever accomplished anything, she’d probably say, “Well, of course, but I want him to be happy and in love doing it.”

Parents think that way because we’re made in the image of God. It’s not that God doesn’t assign tasks from time to time – even hard ones; but His priority is that through them, we will become joyful (note: this may differ from your understanding of “happy”), prayerful and thankful. The task itself is not the highest priority.

Life, composed of the tasks we choose and are assigned, is the environment in which we produce/learn/discover (?) the will of God. That will is to be joyful in whatever the task may be, thankful in whatever circumstance may follow, and in continual conversation with our loving Father. We call this latter point “prayer.” It’s God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.