A young lady, one of the youth in my youth group, came to Wednesday night service sick. She suspected that she might be suffering strep throat. We prayed for her, as scripture instructs, and I made the statement that we should pray for God's will instead of just healing. I stated that if it was God's will, then he could heal her on the spot, but that he may have other plans.
The next morning, on the way to work, I again prayed for her. I began to think about the implications of praying "your will be done". Don't we usually pray "my will be done" while saying "your will be done"?
What if we were to follow what scripture instructs in 1 Thessalonians 5:13, and give thanks in all situations. This would sound like "Lord, you know I'm sick. I don't like being sick, but knowing that you are Lord of my life, I have to believe that you are doing what is ultimately best for me. Therefore, your will be done, in my life. If this is a lesson, then help me to learn quickly. If it's so that someone may see your glory, then use me. If you are preparing me for something bigger, then thanks for preparing me. Regardless, thanks for trusting me to be able handle this without griping and complaining.
Scripture instructs us to give thanks for all things. Maybe our perspective is so small or skewed, or maybe we just think that scripture is figurative instead of literal. I have found that believing "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." (2 Timothy 3:16 NLT) makes all the difference when it comes to thankfulness and trust.
