People live with two trains of thought, for the devout and dedicated Christian it is “God’s will not mine be done” and for the nominal half-hearted believer and/or pagan non-believers it is, “my will not Yours be done.” For the first, those who live in obedience according to scripture, God will be with them no matter what comes their way. For the second, who live in incessant rebellion, I have seen His response be, “Ok, have it your way.” and the end result is never pretty. I have come to comprehend through reading the scriptures about what it means to be humble before God. It is written in *James 4:8 Come close to God and He will come close to you. [Recognize that you are] sinners, get your soiled hands clean; [realize that you have been disloyal] wavering individuals with divided interests, and purify your hearts [of your spiritual adultery]. 9 [As you draw near to God] be deeply penitent and grieve, even weep [over your disloyalty]. Let your laughter be turned to grief and your mirth to dejection and heartfelt shame [for your sins]. 10 Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will lift you up and make your lives significant].* I’ve offered up prayers asking God for His will to be done, only to later take them back. The Father’s will and agenda were Jesus’ priority and yet, there are times when it is really that last thing I want for my life. On more than one occasion I have struggled with praying for God’s will to be done, but there has never been a time when His will was done that I have been disappointed. How different would our world be if, when we came to God with our list of requests, we opened not only our hands but our hearts and prayed like Jesus did: “Not my will, but Yours be done” …? I have learned the hard way that if a person continues to tell God to “leave me alone” He, in essence, will do just that, leaving you to yourself and the merciless power of Satan. Consider yourself warned and I pray that all who read these words humbles themselves to the will of the Father who knows what is best for His children. In Christ Love, douglas.

To any who are interested, please feel free to reach out to me with prayer requests, questions, encouragement, or for information on how to come alongside me in financial support of the ministry activities that God has entrusted to me at pastord.blog@gmail.com