Video Transcript

Edmund: Have you ever been paralyzed by a really difficult decision? I mean, we’re faced with hundreds of decisions every week; maybe even every day. And while it might be silly to highlight that even the small decisions can be difficult, like which drink to choose. You chose healthy? Unhealthy? Healthy? Unhealthy?

The ones that really stand out are the big, difficult, important life decisions. And you’ve probably dealt with some of these decisions already in your own life.

Well, there’s actually wisdom about this in the Lord’s Prayer, in particular one of the petitions that Jesus taught us to pray. So today, let’s talk about learning to make tough decisions with God by praying “Thy will be done”.

I think if you asked most people if they could wake up tomorrow and all of a sudden hear God’s voice very clearly—especially when they’re making difficult decisions—I think most of us would say “Yeah, I love that.” But if we asked the same people if they believe they know what God’s voice actually sounds like, I’d bet they’d be less sure. 

See, learning to hear God’s voice actually takes two things: practice and grace. And this is great news because that means we can start learning to discern God’s voice and His will for our lives today, and we can get better at it over time. And even better, God actually wants you to learn to do this, and He wants to give you grace to help you. 

So this is what I really love about this petition in particular that Jesus teaches us in the Lord’s Prayer, is that we get to see an example of Him praying this later in Scripture. And you might be familiar with this from the Agony in the Garden. And see, this is right before Jesus is arrested, and He knows that He’s going to endure great suffering; He knows that He’s going to the Crucifixion. 

But He goes to the Mount of Olives with the disciples and He prays, and He expresses human fear and hesitation. And in His prayer, He says: “Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not as I will, but your will be done.”  See, because Jesus is fully man, and in His humanity, He recoils from pain and death—just like we do. But because He knows the Father’s will, He chooses to embrace this suffering and this death out of obedience to the Father’s plan.

But He takes time to pause and pray to the Father. Jesus is revealing the humanity and the struggle of surrendering our human desires to God’s perfect will. 

So, here’s what the Catechism says in paragraph 2825: “Although he was a Son, [Jesus] learned obedience through what he suffered. How much more reason have we sinful creatures to learn obedience — we who in him have become children of adoption. We ask our Father to unite our will to his Son’s, in order to fulfill his will, his plan of salvation for the life of the world. We are radically incapable of this, but united with Jesus and with the power of his Holy Spirit, we can surrender our will to him and decide to choose what his Son has always chosen: to do what is pleasing to the Father.” 

See, in our lives, we make decisions based on a higher good. We have some type of ultimate goal that we’re aiming for. So for example, when choosing between two different colleges, you might think about the job you want after college. Or when you’re choosing between two different jobs, you might think about the location and your future goal of starting a family.

So we ask Jesus to teach us how to submit our will to God’s will. So Jesus teaches us in the Lord’s Prayer to pray “Thy will be done” and then later in the Agony of the Garden, we see this prayer lived out. 

Jesus took time to step away and be with God. And He’s showing us that for our own lives—when we’re making big decisions—even a brief pause can make a huge difference. Even if it’s before sending an email, making a phone call, sending a text, pausing before these little decisions and just turning to God briefly in prayer can help develop the habit of looking to God first rather than reacting immediately.

Jesus also shows us in the Agony of the Garden that we can be honest with the Father about our emotions, Jesus—even in His agony—placed His trust in the Father’s will. But He didn’t deny His feelings. God’s plan for you is for your ultimate happiness, but He doesn’t want us to ignore or hide from Him how we’re actually feeling and what we actually want in that moment.

So we can go to God honestly in prayer when we’re making a decision. Our prayer could sound like “Look God. I have these two difficult decisions, and to be honest, I want to choose this one. But not my will, but your will be done.”

Because in these moments of this tension where we’re giving to God our struggles and feelings—while also praying for the grace to really mean it when we say “Thy will be done”—Jesus can rush in with grace.

And it’s through that practice and grace from God that we continue to learn to discern God’s will in our lives. So practice this in the little decisions so that you’re ready for the big decisions. Pause and be honest with God. 

Finally, remember that Jesus in the Agony of the Garden brings the disciples with Him to pray. And though they didn’t do it perfectly, this reminds us that we don’t have to make these difficult decisions alone. We have a God who wants to be with us in our decision-making as we try to follow His will, and He wants to give us grace. 

But we can also invite family, friends, spiritual advisers, people we trust; other Christians— to pray with us and help us as we’re trying to discern God’s will in difficult decisions in our lives.

See, even when the path is difficult, we can trust that following God’s will leads us closer to Him; it leads us closer to true freedom and to true happiness. And just as Jesus struggling in prayer in the Agony of the Garden led Him through the Cross to the Resurrection and our redemption, so too can our trust in God in difficult moments lead to unexpected grace; it can lead to deeper peace and closer union with God the Father. 

And so this is the Good News of Jesus teaching us to pray “Thy will be done.” It’s the Good News that God wants us to know and love His will for our lives and for others.