Eld Chew Chong Kiat

We pray only to God, our Father in heaven. We may do so confidently and affectionately for ourselves and each other, yet with holy fear.

In the first petition, “Hallowed be Thy Name”, we pray that God will enable us and others to glorify him. Through His providence, God always glorifies Himself; and we pray that He may be glorified through us, for that is the chief end of our existence. “For of him, and through him, and to him, [are] all things: to whom [be] glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)

In the second petition, we pray for the destruction of the kingdom of darkness, the advancement of the Kingdom of grace, and the swift coming of the Kingdom of glory.

In the third petition, we pray that “God, by His grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven.” (WSC Question 103)

First, we acknowledge that we cannot know and do God’s will without His enabling and His grace: “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13). How powerless we are! Yet, how great is God’s power upon us, enabling His children to know and do His will. The things of God are spiritual and can only be spiritually discerned through the Spirit of God, who dwells in us, enabling us both to will and to do His good pleasure. This is why we plead with God in this petition.  

Second, we can only know the will of God through His revelation and providence. The Word of God is His revelation of His will to us. What God has written is for us to know Him and what He wants us to do. While we pray that God will reveal His will to us, we must search the Scriptures. God, who spoke through visions and dreams in times past, now speaks through His perfect, preserved, and sufficient Word. It is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, providing safety and blessings. Even in specific matters, such as choosing whom to marry, God’s Word gives clear guidelines. We are to commit all matters to Him in prayer, trusting that He will direct our footsteps through His wise providence.

In Deuteronomy 29, Moses recounted “the words of the covenant” (v. 1) and urged the people to “keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do” (v. 9). The chapter ends with a reminder: “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (v. 29).

It is our duty, therefore, to diligently search the Scriptures, and not be curious about matters on which the Bible is silent and of which we will know when we are in heaven. We do not need to know them now. God wisely provides the knowledge we need during our sojourn here.

The third lesson is that God’s will is always done. If we play a part in fulfilling God’s will, we are blessed. Even if we resist, His will will still be accomplished. God is not hindered by anyone’s resistance. Even the wrath of man will be directed to fulfil God’s will, and He can restrain the remainder of it (Psalm 76:10). Consider how the taking and killing of the Messiah by wicked men fulfilled God’s plan of salvation and how He restrained men’s hands from harming Christ’s disciples until their work was done. God is sovereign and powerful! Let us not resist His will but obey it for our blessing. To Saul, God said, “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks” (Acts 9:5). How blessed was Paul when God turned him around to submit and do His will!

Let us not be like Jonah who obeyed unwillingly because he did not delight in God’s will. His own will and prejudice blinded him to the mercies of God in saving the most undeserving. Sometimes we also resist God’s will because we have our own thoughts. But God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, nor are His ways our ways; as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God’s ways higher than ours, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). This brings us back to the first point: we need to pray that God will make us willing to know His will.

Lastly, let us strive to do the will of God as perfectly as the angels do in heaven. They meticulously carry out God’s will to every jot and tittle. Let us neither deviate to the left or right nor add our own thinking to what God has revealed. Instead, let us study to show ourselves “approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). And when we have done God’s will, we have only done what we ought to do. Yet God is so gracious that He will reward us. How rich are His blessings toward us!

Let us pray the third petition that “God, by His grace, would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven.”

Amen.