One of my priest-friends would say that in this prayer you will find the path to finding true joy. He’s right, of course, but there are times that it might feel like a really scary journey. This week we Lectio the Liturgy with the Collect for the 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Almighty ever-living God, grant that we may always conform our will to yours and serve your majesty in sincerity of heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
It may be your deliberate prayer, “Make Your will my will,” or, it may be repeated so often that we just take it for granted, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Either way, this Collect gives us the opportunity to focus on what we mean when we ask God that our will would be conformed to His.
I’ve prayed it for years, “Make my will your will,” but actually, what I was really doing was just giving God permission to change my plans. For example, if I wanted to do something and it didn’t work out, I was willing to accept that God changed the plan and it’s okay. I also knew that I wanted God’s will to be my will because I knew that my prayer would be answered if I would pray into the will of God.
However, there is a deeper level of conforming that is found in the prayer and it requires us to not only be open to His will, but it is a call for us to want to be conformed to His will. This means we let go of our own desires and convictions and reach out to hold on to God’s perspective.
This deeper level of conforming is also accompanied by a deeper level of obedience. Out of this obedience comes our desire to serve. Conforming to God’s will is not just being OK with God changing your plans, it requires you to know that sometimes you have to let go of your own plans to carry out His. For example, if you’re in a hurry, rushing through the store, but God wants you to stop to pray with someone, you do it, even if you’re out of time and even if you’re afraid. Your obedience leads to service.
It is an interesting cycle, one where we live like Jesus. His obedience to offer Himself for us, leads to His service as He stands before the Father interceding for us (Rom 8:34). The more we unite to God’s will, the more we live a life of service, serving God’s majesty in sincerity of heart.
In the Latin form of the prayer, for sincerity, we find the word sincero, which means pure or genuine. It means that we’re not actors in a play, our service is not done to schmooze God. Our service comes from the heart and something tells me that God is going to know if our efforts are genuine or not.
So, how is this the key to joy? My friend would tell me that when we have complete trust in the will of God, we have nothing to worry about. Every day is filled with joy knowing that God has everything under control and His will for us is always for our good.
And that person at the store who needs your prayer? God has that figured out, too. When we make His will the priority of our day, when we align with His purpose, His peace and guidance realigns our day to accomplish what needs to be done. Our only job is to allow ourselves to conform, He’ll take care of the rest.